Surgical Techniques for Inferior Turbinate Reduction: Is there an Exit from the Labyrinth?

Chronic nasal obstruction can significantly impair patients’ life quality and is a frequent complaint reported to Otolaryngologists. Inferior turbinate hypertrophy (ITH) is a common cause of nasal breathing impairment.1 Various etiologies for ITH have been reported such as allergic reactions, nonallergic rhinitis, chronic hypertrophic rhinitis, and compensatory hypertrophy in case of septal deviations. Numerous surgical techniques have been described to reduce the size of the inferior turbinates: partial or total turbinectomy, electrocautery, cryotherapy, laser cautery, submucosal resection, submucosal turbinate bone resection, turbinoplasties with turbinate lateral displacement, radiofrequency-assisted turbinoplasty, microdebrider-assisted turbinoplasty, and ultrasound turbinate reduction [1-8].