• Michael G Stewart, Timothy L Smith, Edward M Weaver, David L Witsell, Bevan Yueh, Maureen T Hannley, and Jonas T Johnson.
• Bobby R. Alford Department of Otorhinolaryngology and Communicative Sciences, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX 77030, USA. mgstew@bcm.tmc.edu
• Otolaryngol Head Neck Surg. 2004 Mar 1; 130 (3): 283-90.

ObjectiveOur goal was to assess disease-specific quality of life outcomes after nasal septoplasty in adults with nasal obstruction.Design, Settings, And PatientsWe conducted a prospective observational outcomes multicenter study with 14 sites and 16 investigators, including private practice and academic settings. Patients had had septal deviation and symptomatic nasal obstruction for at least 3 months, and medical management had failed.MethodsPatients with septal deviation completed a validated outcomes instrument (the Nasal Obstruction Septoplasty Effectiveness [NOSE] scale) before and 3 and 6 months after septoplasty, with or without partial turbinectomy.ResultsFifty-nine patients underwent surgery; there was a significant improvement in mean NOSE score at 3 months after septoplasty (67.5 versus 23.1, P < 0.0001), and this improvement was unchanged at 6 months. Patient satisfaction was very high, and patients used significantly fewer nasal medications.ConclusionsIn patients with septal deformity, nasal septoplasty results in significant improvement in disease-specific quality of life, high patient satisfaction, and decreased medication use.

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