Surgical Management of the Nasal Septum

The complaint of nasal obstruction is a significant health problem, effective directly on the individual’s quality of life and leading the patient to the physician for treatment. When the causes of nasal obstruction are considered, the structural disorders of the formations contributing in the nasal anatomy are primarily determined. These are conditions such as deviations of the nasal septum, hypertrophy, and congestion of the turbinates, the deformations of the structures taking place within the nasal roof during respiration (alar collapse, etc.). Among structural disorders of the nose, septum pathologies are observed more frequently than the other pathologies, and they can be surgically corrected. Nasal septum surgery is one of the surgical interventions that the ear nose and throat physicians frequently perform at present. The deformities and irregularities of the nasal septum are conditions found in approximately 30–43% of the population, without gender difference and complaint of nasal obstruction. However, in patients admitted with nasal obstruction, septum deformities and irregularities are met with an incidence of approximately 22–30%. The surgical procedure used in nasal septal deviations is also performed in situations without any anatomical disorder or distortion of the nasal septum, for example, epistaxis, providing cartilaginous graft during rhinoplasty, or for access to the anterior wall of the sphenoid sinus during hypophysial surgery.