EVALUATION OF STENTS FOLLOWING SEPTOPLASTY

This prospective study was designed to evaluate the immediate postoperative course and long-term efficacy of septal stents. In 20 patients who underwent primary septorhinoplasty, Doyle II silicone stents were inserted bilaterally parallel to the septum. The stents were removed after an average of 3.3 days. A hollow tube was designed into this particular stent in an attempt to minimize patients discomfort from nasal airway obstruction. Subjective ratings of airway improvement were very similar for patients whose septums were supported with nasal stents and for those patients from our 1989 study whose noses were treated with nasal packing. However, the number of patients who complained about discomfort was substantially higher in the stent group, 60% (12 of 20), compared with the nasal packing group, 22% (5 of 23 patients) (p < 0.05). The percentage of partial residual or recurrent septal deviation was also slightly higher in the stent group, 25% (5 of 20), than in the packing group, 13% (3 of 23 patients), but this was not statistically significant (p > 0.50). The alar base incision was partially dehisced during removal of the stent in one patient, in spite of a routine reduction in the width of the splint.