The effects of intranasal splints in septal surgery

Nasal splints have long been used to prevent post operative nasal adhesions in septal surgery. but they are also been criticized as they cause significant morbidity in terms of post operative pain and discomfort. we have conducted a study to see the usefulness and other effects of their use. it was carried out in the ent department of nishtar hospital,multan during the period from september 2009 to june 2010. one hundred patients who underwent septal & turbinate surgery were included in the study. these were divided into two equal halves,one group had splints inserted at the end of the procedure and the other not. the patients were finally evaluated for beneficial and unwanted effects. it was concluded that adhesions formation is significantly less common in splinted patients; similarly satisfaction of the patient from the surgical outcome was much higher in the splinted than non splinted patients. however pain during one week post operative period was also higher in these patients.