A randomised clinical trial of turbinectomy for compensatory turbinate hypertrophy in patients with anterior septal deviations

Turbinectomy is performed at the time of nasal septal surgery by many otola ryngologists. One reason given for this procedure is the presence of a hype rtrophied contralateral inferior turbinate. A randomised trial was undertak en to evaluate the relief of nasal obstruction following contralateral turb inectomy with septal surgery. Patients presenting with nasal obstruction wh o had a unilateral septal deviation and contralateral inferior turbinate en largement were prospectively randomized to contralateral turbinectomy or no turbinate surgery at the time of septal surgery. Questionnaires and active anterior rhinomanometry were used for evaluation. Twenty-six patients (mea n age 31 years) demonstrated a reduction in subjective and objective measur es of nasal obstruction (P < 0.05) 8 weeks after operation. There was no in tergroup difference, the median total decongested nasal resistance postoper atively in the non-turbinectomized patients was 0.17 kPal(-1) s and 0.21 kP al(-1) s in the turbinectomized patients. Contralateral inferior turbinecto my does not add to the relief of nasal obstruction beyond that attained by septal surgery in these patients.