Analysis of Impact on Nasal Obstruction by Commercially Available Internal Nasal Stents

Nasal rhinomanometry provides a measure of the airflow through the nose during inspiration
and expiration. The effect of static obstructions, such as septal deviation, as well as
dynamic obstructions, such as lateral nasal wall collapse, can be measured by the
rhinomanometer. The effect of commercially available nasal stents on nasal airflow will be
measured. In subjects chosen from the general population, some of whom may not complain of
nasal obstruction, the airflow will be measured before and after the placement of removable
nasal silastic stents. In addition, these subjects will complete a one question scale in the
Likert model to rate the degree of their subjective nasal obstruction; they will complete
this both before and after placement of the stents. The results of the scale before and
after application of the stents will be correlated with the objective measurements of
airflow by rhinomanometry taken before and after stent insertion.Several studies have
measured the effect of external nasal splints (such as Breathe-Rite strips) on nasal airflow
and nasal airway size (as measured by acoustic rhinometry), but few have studied internal
nasal stents. No studies have correlated rhinomanometric evaluation of effect on nasal
obstruction by nasal stents with the validated NOSE survey (Nasal Obstruction Symptom
Evaluation). In patients with a chief complaint of nasal obstruction and who are noted to
have anterior nasal obstruction, nasal stents may provide a satisfactory improvement in
nasal airflow without surgical or medicinal intervention. For patients who are determined to
be candidates for surgical intervention, the surgical procedure is tailored to their
specific anatomic deformities, as determined by the staff facial plastic surgeon. While the
patient's complaint of nasal obstruction as well as the surgeon's assessment of the nasal
anatomy are important components in the determination of the need for surgical intervention,
no studies have utilized the validated NOSE instrument of subjective complaint of nasal
obstruction combined with objective measurements of dynamic airflow. Rhinomanometric
measurements can be used to further validate the NOSE instrument both preoperatively and
postoperatively.

Inclusion Criteria:

- 18 years or older

Exclusion Criteria:

- history of nasal surgery, currently using topical nasal steroid spray, over the
counter decongestant, history of recurrent epistaxis or history of nosebleed within 2
weeks prior to data collection, currently pregnant