title: Treatment of nasal septal perforations with a custom-made prosthesis.
abstract: We present the fabrication and clinical use of a custom-made nasal septal silicone button that can be inserted transnasally into a perforation of the nasal septum by the physician as an office procedure, or by the patients themselves in their home. Questionnaire and retrospective chart review were used to evaluate the efficacy of this prosthesis as treatment of disturbing symptoms from nasal septal perforation. The study included 41 patients (27 women) with a nasal septal perforation. The follow-up time ranged from 1 to 9 years. Symptoms investigated were nasal obstruction, crusting, feeling of dryness, pain, epistaxis, and whistling from the nose. The degree of experienced symptoms was estimated on a VAS-scale. The questionnaire was answered by 37 of the 41 patients. Fourteen patients were still using their button at the follow-up. Treatment with the prosthesis greatly diminished all the investigated symptoms. Also, use of the silicone button resulted in an improved quality of life. No case of infection was noted in connection with use of the silicone prosthesis.
authors.affiliation: Department of Otorhinolaryngology, Head and Neck Surgery, University Hospital of Umeå, 901 85, Umeå, Sweden.
authors.forename: Anna
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Blind
authors.forename: Antti
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Hulterström
authors.forename: Diana
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Berggren
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D015331:Cohort Studies; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009300:Nasal Septum / Q000293:injuries* / Q000601:surgery; D009668:Nose Diseases / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000601:surgery*; D019736:Prostheses and Implants; D011474:Prosthesis Design / Q000379:methods*; D011475:Prosthesis Failure; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D018570:Risk Assessment; D012828:Silicones / Q000494:pharmacology*; D013548:Sweden; D055815:Young Adult
chemical_list: D012828:Silicones