Radiofrequency Ablation (Coblation) Treatment of Inferior Turbinate Hypertrophy

Background: Nasal obstruction caused by soft tissue hypertrophy of the inferior turbinates is one of the most common presentations in otorhinolaryngology. Most of the times medical treatment fails to relieve the obstruction. Aim: To assess the efficacy of radiofrequency volumetric tissue reduction (RFVTR) “COBLATION” of inferior turbinate in relieving nasal obstruction. Study Design: Prospective, clinical trial. Method: A total of 40 patients with chronic nasal obstruction due to hypertrophied inferior turbinates with positive decongestant test were treated with radiofrequency treatment under local anaesthesia. Pre operative and post operative fairly nasal scores mean were calculated subjectively to assess the percentage improvement in nasal obstruction. Results: By the end of 3 months nasal obstruction improved by 85.65%, other symptoms like rhinorrhea, sneezing, headache and snoring also improved. Overall improvement (collective symptoms improvement) was 71.80% with out any major complication. Conclusion: RFVTR of inferior turbinate is safe and effective method of relieving nasal obstruction and other associated symptoms due to inferior turbinate hypertrophy, without affecting the turbinate mucosal function. Procedure can be done under local anaesthesia as an office procedure. There are no serious intraoperative and post operative complications except for blood stained discharge and crusting in few patients. Follow results are assessed both subjectively and objectively. As the procedure is relatively new further studies with longer follow up are required to assess the long term effects on the nasal obstruction.