Facial skeletal dimensions in patients with nasal septal deviation.

The anatomy and the concomitant function of the face seem to be reciprocal issues. Previous studies have shown that stenosis in the posterior part of the nose, hampering nasal air flow, is associated with a retrognathic face and a posterior rotation of the lower jaw, i.e. components of the adenoid syndrome. The present study examines facial cephalometric morphology in adults with a deviated nasal septal cartilage, i.e. an anteriorly positioned nasal stenosis. Compared to a group of unafflicted individuals, also with regard to rhinomanometric resistance, a significantly smaller posterior facial height, smaller height of the anterior nasal aperture, a posterior rotation of the lower jaw and a shorter nasal floor and ceiling were found. This may mean that growth of the nasal septal cartilage and growth of the surrounding skeletal areas are out of step. A relatively undersized skeletal frame, in the sagittal plane, may have led to the buckled non-fitting septal cartilage, with increased air flow resistance as a secondary effect. If this interpretation is correct, an early cautious surgical correction of the septal deviation, also balancing this growth incongruence, might be worth serious consideration.