The stuffy nose: a comparative study of two common methods of treatment.

This study compares the efficacy of submucosal diathermy and cryotherapy in the treatment of nasal obstruction caused by engorged inferior turbinates. Subjectively they are equally effective but cryotherapy has the advantage that it can be performed under local anaesthetic and does not require hospitalization. Rhinomanometry suggests that cryotherapy causes more destruction of the submucosal vascular plexus than submucosal diathermy. Scanning electron microscopy 6 weeks postoperatively demonstrates that both treatment modalities cause widespread damage to the mucociliary epithelium.