Septal cartilage graft for nasal valve incompetence associated with deviated septum

BACKGROUND: The nasal valve is one of the major factors contributing to nasal airflow obstruction. Physiologically, the nasal valve offers the greatest resistance to nasal airflow and generally functions as an inflow device controlling nasal airflow and resistance. Many patients who have complaints of breathing impairment are affected by alterations of the nasal septum, the turbinates, the columellar base, the vestibule floor, or the lateral wall of the nose but may have associated incompetence of the nasal valve, which is too often undervalued by nasal surgeons. The aim of this study was to propose a relatively easy surgical technique to correct most nasal valve impairments associated with nasal septum deviation whether or not there also is inferior turbinate hypertrophy. METHODS: Between May 2004 and September 2006, 68 patients (26 women and 42 men; mean age, 37 years; range, 16-71 years) underwent primary or secondary functional nasal surgery, because of a nasal respiratory obstruction caused by nasal septal deviation eventually associated with inferior turbinates hypertrophy, and also demonstrated nasal valvular incompetence. A septal cartilage graft was used to correct the valvular incompetence. RESULTS: On postoperative visits almost all of the patients (with one exception) showed a remarkable improvement in the stiffening of the valvular region and had only minimal depression of the nostril during deep inspiration. CONCLUSION: This study indicated that septal grafts were useful in the surgical management of nasal respiratory impairment because of nasal valve incompetence, where there had been flaccid mobile collapse of the ala of the nose associated with septal alterations.