Laser-assisted outpatient septoplasty: results in 703 patients.

Laser-assisted outpatient septoplasty is a new technique devised to minimize and simplify surgery under local anesthesia. It takes 5 minutes and has a specific clinical application in chronic nasal obstruction because of moderate anterior septal deviation in adults. It is less invasive than traditional septoplasty and has less morbidity, lower medical costs, and faster return to full activity. Seven hundred three patients underwent this operation from August 1995 to June 1998, with a patient evaluation performed before and after surgery. The evaluation was first performed by means of a direct interview, with a clinical examination and acoustic rhinometry, and then by means of a telephone interview, with strictly standardized questioning. Our results show a surgical success rate of 90.8% on the nasal obstruction but also an improvement on nasal discharge, sneezing, recurrent headaches, and chronic rhinosinusitis.