NASAL GROWTH AFTER EXTERNAL SEPTOPLASTY IN CHILDREN

Objective: To assess the impact of external septoplasty surgery on nas al growth in children. Design: Twelve anthropometric measurements (9 l inear and 3 angular) were obtained in patients who previously underwen t external septoplasty surgery for severe nasal obstruction caused by septal deviation anterior to the nasal spine. Surgery consisted of exc ision, refashioning, and reinsertion of the quadrilateral cartilage. F rom these 12 measurements, 5 proportional indexes were calculated, and then all measurements and proportions were compared with previously p ublished norms. Follow-up measurements were taken at least 2 years aft er surgery (average, 3.4 years). Setting: The Hospital for Sick Childr en, Toronto, Ontario, a tertiary care children's hospital. Precipitant s: Twenty-eight patients who underwent external septoplasty surgery be tween the ages of 6 and 15 years. Results: The principal measurements of the face and nose were within 1 SD of the normative mean for the ma jority of those in the study group. This was true for nasal height, na sal tip protrusion, nasal width, columella width, columella length, up per face height, face height, face width, inclination of the upper fac e, inclination of the nasal dorsum, and inclination of the columella. Values for 4 of the 5 proportional indexes were also overwhelmingly in the normal range. Twenty-nine percent of nasal dorsum measurements an d 57% of nasal dorsum indexes were more than 2 SDs from the mean, indi cating a predominance of short nasal dorsums. Conclusions: External se ptoplasty does not affect most aspects of nasal and facial growth, but it may negatively influence growth of the nasal dorsum. Prospective s tudies are needed to clarify this issue.