Hypertrophy of the inferior turbinates are the major cause of
nasal obstruction.
CO2 lasers have been used to reduce the size of the inferior turbinates over the last 20 years. However, the many techniques of delivery of the
laser show that there is no one standard method reducing the size of the turbinates. We now describe how the
laser can be applied directly to the turbinates using a handpiece with a special nasal tip, thus overcoming the disadvantages delivery via arthroscopic devices, microscopes and fibers. This technique is further enhanced by coupling it with Swiftlase which swirls the focused beam in a 3 mm spot thus ablating tissue more quickly. This procedure is done under local anaesthesia. The ablation of the anterior third of the inferior turbinates effectively overcomes
nasal obstruction. This new method was compared to the more traditional submucus
diathermy. 22 patients were subjected to
laser treatment whilst 20 patients were subjected to
diathermy. The outcome was evaluated subjectively by the patients themselves at 2 weeks, 3 months and 6 months. At the end of the study, the
laser group reported a more significantly improved nasal airway (91% against 75%) and decreased
rhinorrhea (72.7% against 35%) when compared to the
diathermy group.