THE EFFECTS OF REPEATED RADIOFREQUENCY SURGERY ON THE NASAL MUCOCILIARY ACTIVITY

Method and Material: The study included 100 adult patients with bilateral lower concha hypertrophy resistant to medical treatment. Al the patients were applied a saccharin test one day before the RFTA surgery and two months postoperatively. In 23 patients, who did not show the desired improvement in the obstruction symptoms, underwent a second RFTA intervention two months after the initial surgery. These patients were applied saccharin test in the postoperative 2nd month.

Results: Of 110 patients, 63 (% 57.2) were female and 48 (% 43.6) were male. Of the 23 patients who underwent a second RFTA surgery, 15 (%65.2) were female and 8 (%34.7) were male. The mean preoperative saccharin clearance time was 13.5 min; after the first surgery, it was 12.2 min, and after the second surgery, it was 12.9 min. Statistical comparisons revealed no statistically significant differences between the saccharin clearance times preoperatively, after the first RFTA and after the second RFTA (p>0.05).

Conclusion: Although RFTA surgery yields 80-1005 improvement in obstructive symptoms, repeated RFTA interventions may be required in resistant cases. According to the results of our study, RFTA surgery preserved the mucociliary functions after only one application, as reported in the literature. Furthermore, the results indicated that repeated RFTA interventions do not impair the nasal mucociliary functions and thus can be used as a reliable technique for repeated interventions, a finding that has never been reported before. Keywords : Turbinates, hypertrophy, radiofrequency, mucociliary clearance