Identifying patients who may benefit from inferior turbinate reduction using computer simulations.

ABSTRACT:

Objectives/hypothesis

(1) To determine objective criteria to predict which patients may benefit most from inferior turbinate reduction surgery. (2) To test whether the site of turbinate reduction, either along the nasal floor (bottom resection) or along the septal side (medial resection), impacts the extent to which nasal resistance is reduced.

Study design

Case series.

Methods

Three-dimensional reconstructions of the nasal anatomy of five nasal airway obstruction patients were created based on presurgical computed tomography scans. Inferior turbinate reduction models were created for each patient using virtual surgery. Airflow, heat transfer, and humidity transport during inspiration were simulated using computational fluid dynamics (CFD).

Results

Nasal resist

SUBMITTER: Hariri BM 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4641847 | biostudies-literature | 2015 Dec

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature