Clinical outcomes of nasal septal surgery at high altitude.

This study aimed to investigate the clinical outcome of nasal septal surgery at altitude of 2,200 m. The study is a retrospective medical record review. Medical records of 137 patients were investigated in this study; 105 of these patients received septoplasty procedure and 32 received septorhinoplasty procedure at altitude of 2,200 m. Improvement of nasal obstruction was found in 79.6% and no change was seen in 20.4% of the patients. Complications were seen in 30.7%. The most frequent complication was persistent nasal obstruction. Outcomes of nasal septal surgery at high altitude were similar with previous studies done at low altitudes. Although high-altitude environmental factors may result in a number of clinical conditions, high-altitude conditions does not make a significant difference in the outcome of nasal septal surgery.