Abstract
Objectives
To study the long-term outcomes of radiofrequency turbinoplasty for the treatment of allergic rhinitis.
Methods
146 consecutive patients who underwent radio-frequency turbinoplasty due to allergic rhinitis refractory to medical therapy were enrolled in this study. A 0–10 visual analog scale (VAS) was used to assess the allergic symptoms including nasal obstruction, rhinorrhea, sneezing, itchy nose, and itchy eyes preoperatively and 5 years postoperatively. The long-term clinical benefits and complications were reviewed. Statistical analysis was determined by paired t-test.
Results
None of the patients had obvious discomfort except mild numbness over the teeth (27/146, 18.5%) during operation. No long-term adverse reactions, including bleeding, infection, adhesion, or olfactory change were encountered. 119 patients had a minimum follow-up of 5 years and complete data available for analysis. The response rate was 60.5% (72/119). 18 patients received additional nasal surgery due to no obvious response to the surgery. These patients were excluded from the final analysis. 5 years after the treatment, the other 101 patients obtained improvement of nasal obstruction, with the VAS degree changing from 6.65 ± 1.92 to 4.45 ± 2.54 (p<0.0001). The VASs of rhinorrhea, sneezing, itchy nose, and itching eyes changed from 5.90 ± 2.79 to 3.79 ± 2.97, 5.15 ± 2.77 to 3.50 ± 2.77, 3.67 ± 3.03 to 2.41 ± 2.30 and 2.94 ± 3.02 to 2.02 ± 2.42, respectively (all p<0.0001).
Conclusions
The long-term study demonstrated that radiofrequency turbinoplasty appears to still be effective and safe for treating allergic rhinitis refractory to medical therapy.