Laser/radiofrequency turbinate reduction
Turbinate hypertrophy is a major cause of nasal breathing difficulty.
The turbinates are structures present along the lateral walls of the nasal cavities consisting of a bony skeleton and a mucous and submucosal lining, chorion, rich in venous blood vessels which, like sponges, swell and deflate cyclically constituting the physiological nasal cycle.
They represent the main actors of the nose as a respiratory organ, ensuring functions such as: heating, cleansing and humidification of the air.
Turbinate hypertrophy does not represent a well-defined pathological condition, but the clinical expression of chronic rhinitis, which can have various causes, including: allergic rhinitis, non-allergic or cellular rhinitis (Nares, Narne, Narma, Naresma), iatrogenic rhinitis (from antihypertensive drugs or from abuse of topical nasal decongestants, such as VICKS), hormonal rhinitis (hyperthyroidism, pregnancy, pre-menstrual) and occupational rhinitis (carpenters, varnishers, painters, etc.).
Therapeutic options must be addressed based on the underlying rhinitis and may be medical and/or surgical.
In association with medical therapy, symptomatic surgical treatment is often associated. In fact, this intervention is not addressed to rhinitis but to the consequent hypertrophy of the turbinates , reducing their size and restoring a correct nasal flow with a resumption of physiological nasal breathing by the patient.
In recent years, surgical techniques have seen a succession of new devices, such as laser and radiofrequencies, which allow treatment under local anesthesia , with the patient awake, without the need for nasal swabs and with the possibility of immediate resumption of work or school activities.
In endoscopy, the volume of the nasal turbinates is reduced, with laser or radiofrequencies, depending on the needs. The procedure lasts about 30 minutes and can be performed on almost all patients without any particular side effects. It can be repeated several times in life.
Restoring correct nasal breathing has a significant impact on quality of life, concentration, night rest, reduction of inflammatory/infectious diseases of the airways (sinusitis, pharyngitis, laryngitis, tracheitis, etc.); it can also be indicated in patients with snoring or sleep apnea as part of a multidisciplinary treatment.
