Comparison between power-assisted turbinoplasty and submucosal resection in the treatment of inferior turbinate hypertrophy.

OBJECTIVES To compare the efficacy of power-microdebrider-assisted inferior turbinoplasty (PAT) with submucosal resection (SMR) in the treatment of inferior turbinate hypertrophy. METHODS A prospective randomized clinical trial study of 46 patients with bilateral inferior turbinate hypertrophy. Patients were randomly divided into 2 groups: PAT and SMR. RESULTS Intraoperative blood loss was 37.1 ± 7.4 ml in the PAT group and 47.8 ± 9.5 ml in the SMR group (means ± SD), while the operative times were 11.1 ± 1.7 and 29.4 ± 4.7 min, respectively. There was statistically significant lower blood loss in the PAT group, due to the shorter operating time. CONCLUSION PAT is equally as safe and effective as SMR. It has a shorter operation time and reduced intraoperative blood loss.