title: Clinical outcomes of nasal septal surgery at high altitude.
abstract: This study aimed to investigate the clinical outcome of nasal septal surgery at altitude of 2,200 m. The study is a retrospective medical record review. Medical records of 137 patients were investigated in this study; 105 of these patients received septoplasty procedure and 32 received septorhinoplasty procedure at altitude of 2,200 m. Improvement of nasal obstruction was found in 79.6% and no change was seen in 20.4% of the patients. Complications were seen in 30.7%. The most frequent complication was persistent nasal obstruction. Outcomes of nasal septal surgery at high altitude were similar with previous studies done at low altitudes. Although high-altitude environmental factors may result in a number of clinical conditions, high-altitude conditions does not make a significant difference in the outcome of nasal septal surgery.
authors.affiliation: Department of Otorhinolaryngology, Sarikamis Military Hospital, Sarikamis, 36500, Kars, Turkey. drengindursun@yahoo.com
authors.forename: Engin
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Dursun
authors.forename: Bilal
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Battal
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000531:Altitude; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D015508:Nasal Obstruction / Q000209:etiology / Q000601:surgery*; D009300:Nasal Septum / Q000601:surgery*; D011183:Postoperative Complications / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000209:etiology*; D012008:Recurrence; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D012225:Rhinoplasty; D016896:Treatment Outcome; D014421:Turkey; D055815:Young Adult