Analysis of patient- and procedure-related risk factors for nasal septal perforations following septoplasty.

OBJECTIVES: To assess the possible relationship between various predictive factors (patient or surgery related) and the development of nasal septal perforations (NSP) with the help of a large study group. METHODS: One hundred and forty-three patients were included in the study. The presence of the following factors was evaluated and compared between the NSP and healthy group: types of surgeries, presence of unilateral or bilateral mucosal tears, concomitant inferior turbinate interventions, smoking, accompanying diabetes mellitus (DM) or allergic rhinitis (AR), types of nasal packings, duration of the surgery (minutes), and the experience of the surgeon (senior/junior). Nasal septal deviations were grouped into two: simple cartilage crests at the septum base and other-more complicated-deviations. RESULTS: NSP was detected in six (4.2%) patients after a mean follow-up of 9.3 ± 3.7 (min: 6 max: 14) months. None of these patients suffered from (AR) or DM. Four of these patients had unilateral and one patient had bilateral mucosal tears during the surgeries. None of the above-mentioned factors-including mucosal tears, type of the deviation or experience of the surgeon-had a significant effect on NSP. CONCLUSION: Untreated bilateral corresponding mucosal tears are the main cause of NSP. When immediately repaired, unilateral or bilateral tears do not affect the development of NSP significantly. Patient-related factors such as age, DM, smoking, AR, and procedure-related factors such as duration, the complexity of the septal deviation, type of the nasal packing, and experience of the surgeon also do not have a significant effect on NSP.