Laser-Doppler blood flowmetry measurement of nasal mucosa blood flow after injection of the greater palatine canal

Laser-Doppler blood flowmetry was used to measure the mucosal blood flow of the inferior turbinate before and after injection of the greater palatine canal with 2 mi of a 0.5 per cent bupivicaine hydrochloride solution. Injection of the greater palatine canal is a useful technique in the control of posterior epistaxis. The arterial blood supply to the inferior turbinate is via a single descending branch of the sphenopalatine artery. We conjectured that injection of the pterygopalatine fossa, via the greater palatine canal, would result in a reduction of blood flow to the inferior turbinate. In this study injection of the pterygopalatine fossa caused only a 4.7 per cent decrease in blood flow to the inferior turbinate mucosa (p = 0.571). Elevation of the head by an angle of 20 degrees reduced nasal mucosal blood flow by 38.3 per cent (p<0.0001). Depression of the head by an angle of 20 degrees increased nasal mucosal blood flow by 74.7 per cent (p<0.0001). We conclude that there is an adequate collateral blood circulation to the anterior portion of the inferior turbinate.