Endoscopic Septoplasty: A Retrospective Analysis of Indications and Outcome

BACKGROUND: Endoscopic septoplasty is a minimally invasive surgical procedure for the correction of nasal septal deformity. Globally, nasal septal surgeries are rarely performed, and in our country these procedures are even more scarcely undertaken, partly due to dearth of facilities and to some extent, the expertise of embarking on this specialised surgical procedure. Therefore, we aimed to document the indications and the outcome of endoscopic septoplasty in our environment. MATERIALS AND METHODS: This was a retrospective study of all consecutive patients that had endoscopic septoplasty at a state tertiary hospital over three years period. Ethical approval was obtained before commencement of the study. Patients’ medical records were retrieved. Biodata, clinical presentation, operative procedure and outcome were extracted and analyzed descriptively. RESULTS: Fourteen patients had endoscopic septoplasty over the period under review, constituting 11 (78.6%) males and 3 (21.4%) females. Predominant clinical features were nasal obstruction (100%) and nasal septal deviation (100%). The main indication for procedure was deviated nasal septum. The outcome of the surgery was good, 2(14.3%) of the patients had nasal adhesions but no major complication was recorded. The length of hospital stay ranged between 3 and 5 days with a mean of 3.7 ± 0.9 days, and all the patients were discharged successfully. CONCLUSIONS: Endoscopic septoplasty is a safe surgery. The main indication for the procedure was deviated nasal septum, and the procedure has a favourable outcome among the operated patients.