Novel treatment of a septal ulceration using an extracellular matrix scaffold (septal ulceration treatment using ECM).

BACKGROUND Septal ulceration is a mucositis involving the mucous membranes of the nasal septum. Patients often complain of nasal irritation, crusting, and epistaxis. Presently, there is no gold standard for the treatment of septal ulcerations. Currently described therapies include local debridement, septal dermoplasty, septal flap reconstruction, and cadaveric dermal graft repair; however, no therapy has demonstrated a consistent improvement of symptoms. We present a novel approach for the treatment of chronic septal ulceration, using an extracellular matrix scaffold (MatriStem® Wound Care Matrix, ACell, Inc.) to repair unilateral partial septal mucosal defects. METHODS This is a retrospective chart review of three patients with age range from 42 to 74years. All three patients underwent several years of unsuccessful conservative medical management and two patients had prior unsuccessful septoplasty and septal ulcer debridement procedure. There are no complications noted in the post-operative period. RESULT All three patients had complete symptom relief on post-operative visit after chronic septal ulceration repair using an extracellular matrix scaffold mechanism. Patients were able to manage with conservative nasal regiment after surgery with significant improvement on quality of life. CONCLUSION The use of extracellular matrix scaffolding provides the nasal septum with a framework for the in-growth of healthy mucosa over ulcerated areas. We propose this as a new treatment approach for patients who failed conservative medical management. Chronic septal ulcerations can be healed to provide improved quality of life to patients.