Comparison of nasal packs with transseptal suturing after nasal septal surgery

Abstract Objectives To investigate the effects of transseptal suturing against two different types of nasal packs with respect to pain, operative time and postoperative complications following nasal septal surgery. Patients and methods One hundred and fifty patients (aged 18–61 years) scheduled for nasal septal surgery were included. Following surgery, three types of nasal packing systems were utilized: (1) transseptal suturing (Group A: 50 patients); (2) internal nasal splint (Group B: 50 patients); (3) a Merocel standard 8-cm nasal dressing without airway (Group C: 50 patients) to the patients. Postoperative pain, operation time, septal perforation and synechiae formation were evaluated. Results The difference between mean operative time of groups B and C was not statistically significant ( p > 0.05). The difference between operative time of the two groups against group A was statistically significant ( p < 0.05). The mean postoperative pain scores were 2.8 ± 1.2 (median 2) in group A, 6.1 ± 1.3 (median 6) in group B, and 7.3 ± 1.2 (median 7) in group C 1 h to 48 h post-surgery. Merocel and internal nasal splint tampons were found to be significantly more painful than transseptal suturing during 48 h ( p < 0.05). There was no statistically significant difference in terms of infection, hematoma, synechiae formation or perforation between the groups ( p > 0.05). Conclusion The use of transseptal suturing technique is a useful alternative to packing, with only minor increase in operating time.