Outcome of Conventional Septoplasty: Experience at a Central Military Hospital Shahid Sardar Mohammad Dowood Khan (CMH-SSMDK)
Keywords: Septoplasty, deviated nasal septum, nasal obstruction
Parwiz Farzam Keshmy
ABSTRACT
Deviated Nasal Septum (DNS) is one of the most common causes of nasal obstruction among adult patients and represents a frequent complaint in the field of rhinology. Nasal obstruction ranks as the nineteenth most common complaint in medical examinations in the United States. Approximately one-third of the global population presents some form of septal deviation, although only about one-fourth requires surgical correction. Septoplasty remains the definitive and effective surgical treatment for DNS, with consistently satisfactory outcomes over the past decades. This prospective descriptive study aimed to evaluate the outcomes of septoplasty procedures performed at the Sardar Mohammad Daud Khan National Military Hospital during the year 2023. All patients were enrolled using a universal sampling method. After thorough examination with a flexible rhinoscope and obtaining informed consent, septoplasty was performed using various standard techniques based on the type of deviation. Data were collected from the first postoperative day up to three months and analyzed using SPSS v.10. A total of 247 patients were included, consisting of 221 males (89%) and 26 females (11%), with ages ranging from 12 to 69 years (mean = 25.45, SD = 7.6). The most common clinical symptom was left-sided nasal obstruction (56.7%), and the main cause was nasal trauma (66.6%). The predominant type of deviation was C-shaped (36.4%). Complete postoperative satisfaction was reported in 194 patients (78.5%), while 53 patients (21.5%) had partial improvement. Postoperative complications were minimal, including bleeding (2%), hematoma (1.6%), septal perforation (2.4%), and adhesions (3.9%). The findings confirm that septoplasty is a safe, elective, and effective surgical procedure for correcting nasal obstruction caused by deviated nasal septum.
