The effects of sevoflurane and isoflurane in nasal septal surgery

The objective of this study was to evaluate the effect of sevoflurane and isoflurane in nasal septal surgery in terms of intraoperative blood loss, operation time, recovery time, and especially postoperative pain. A total of 90 elective nasal septal surgery patients between the ages of 19 and 58 years (mean age, 32.95 years) who were classified as American Society of Anesthesiologists physical status I and II between January 2011 and June 2012 were included the study. Patients were assigned by randomization to receive 1 of 2 anesthetic agents (n = 45 patients each group): balanced general anesthesia with sevoflurane or isoflurane group. In all patients, the amount of intraoperative blood loss, the duration of operation, recovery time, and postoperative pain scores were recorded. The amount of perioperative bleeding in sevoflurane cases was less than that in the isoflurane group, and the difference was statistically significant (P < 0.05). Similarly, mean operative time was shorter in the sevoflurane group, and again the difference between 2 groups was statistically significant (P < 0.05). No statistically significant differences were observed between the 2 groups with respect to the anesthesia duration, extubation time, recovery time, and postoperative pain scores (P > 0.05). Sevoflurane, which is one of the volatile anesthetics, leads to a lower amount of intraoperative bleeding, postoperative pain, and operation time than isoflurane during nasal septal surgery.