Nasal cryosurgery and cautery: should the septum be treated and is a diagnosis relevant?

Posterior rhinometric measurements of nasal resistance were conducted on two groups of patients with perennial rhinitis: those whose symptom of nasal stuffiness responded to a topical steroid spray and those in whom it did not. The anterior ends of the inferior turbinates in 48 patients were treated with either cryosurgery or cautery, and in half of the subjects the erectile tissue of the septum was also thermally ablated. Measurements were made before and 10-16 weeks after therapy. It is concluded from statistical comparison that there is no benefit to treating the septum, and that cryosurgery is more effective in those whose symptoms respond to topical steroids, while cautery works better in those who do not. Histology showed no change in the capacitance vessels (sinusoids) after either modality, and xylometazoline caused a marked decrease in nasal resistance, suggesting that vascular smooth muscle function was intact. Irrespective of the change in airway resistance, most subjects felt that there had been an improvement. The mechanism is discussed.