The effects of inferior turbinoplasty on nasal airflow during cosmetic rhinoplasty

Rhinoplasty is one of the most common and challenging cosmetic procedures. One of the complications of rhinoplasty associated with dissatisfaction is nasal obstruction, which is often due to narrowing of the nasal valve area. Application of certain procedures such as turbinoplasty can prevent and correct this problem. This study aim was to investigate the effect of inferior turbinoplasty in reduction of airflow resistance and nasal obstruction. Using active anterior rhinomanometry, nasal airflow was measured in 50 patients who underwent cosmetic rhinoplasty and bilateral turbinoplasty before and 6 months after surgery. None of the patients subjectively complained of nasal obstruction before or after surgery. According to rhinomanometry results, improvement in nasal airflow was seen both in inspiration and expiration, although only expiration was significant (p = 0.034). Airflow changes in males and females and in different age groups was not significant (p > 0.05). It appears that rhinoplasty does not adversely affect nasal airflow when it is accompanied by simple adjuvant procedure inferior turbinoplasty.