Treatment of severe refractory epistaxis in hereditary hemorrhagic telangiectasia using a two-flap nasal closure method.

BACKGROUND: Nasal closure has been shown to effectively manage severe epistaxis refractory to other treatments in patients with hereditary hemorrhagic telangiectasia (HHT). The nasal closure procedure may be underutilized because of its surgical complexity and flap breakdown.
METHODS: This work is a retrospective review of 13 HHT patients treated for severe epistaxis with nasal closure between 2005 and 2013. Operating room (OR) time, need for revision surgery, preprocedure, and postprocedure epistaxis severity score (ESS), complete blood count values, and Glasgow Benefit Inventory (GBI) questionnaire results were collected for each patient. The technique is described. We characterize a typical nasal closure patient and compare outcomes based on our experience with the traditional 3-flap closure and a simplified 2-flap nasal closure procedure.
RESULTS: The average candidate for nasal closure in this series had an ESS of 7.88, hemoglobin (Hgb) of 8.3 g/dL, and received multiple transfusions, iron therapy, and cautery/coagulation procedures. Average ESS subsequent to nasal closure using the 2-flap method is 0.92 and mean GBI score is 56.3. Comparison of 5 patients who underwent the traditional 3-flap nasal closure procedure and 8 patients receiving the 2-flap nasal closure showed no significant difference in postoperative ESS or GBI metrics. Mean operating room times of the traditional and simplified methods were 3.12 hours and 1.44 hours (p = 0.0001). Mean time to first revision for 8 nasal closure patients was 21.5 months.
CONCLUSION: In short-term follow-up, the 2-flap procedure showed comparable effectiveness with significantly reduced complexity and operative time compared to the traditional nasal closure method.