title: A new method of construction of obturators for nasal septal perforations and evidence of outcomes.
abstract: Septal obturators and buttons for nasal septal perforations are often poorly tolerated. We describe a new method of obturator construction using three-dimensional imaging which more closely replicates the true anatomy of the defect. Patients were assessed using a questionnaire relating to how symptoms had changed between having no obturator, a conventional obturator and the new CT obturator. Eight of nine patients had an improvement in total symptom scores comparing old obturators to new CT obturators and this was significant with a P-value of 0.018 using Student's paired t-test. The majority of patients were satisfied with the new obturators and reported an overall improvement of symptoms.
authors.affiliation: ENT Department, Queen Elizabeth Hospital, Birmingham, UK. jamespbarraclough@hotmail.com
authors.forename: J P
authors.initials: JP
authors.lastname: Barraclough
authors.forename: D
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Ellis
authors.forename: D W
authors.initials: DW
authors.lastname: Proops
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009300:Nasal Septum / Q000601:surgery*; D009668:Nose Diseases / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000601:surgery*; D017060:Patient Satisfaction; D019736:Prostheses and Implants; D011474:Prosthesis Design; D019919:Prosthesis Implantation / Q000295:instrumentation*; D012422:Rupture, Spontaneous / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000601:surgery; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D014057:Tomography, X-Ray Computed; D016896:Treatment Outcome