Outcome of septorhinoplasty: a comparison of patient and surgeon views.
OBJECTIVE
The aim of septo-rhinoplasty and the outcome were evaluated by the patient and the surgeon. The assessment focused on six well-defined characteristics of the nose: profile, width of the osteocartilaginous dorsum, symmetry, nasal tip, nostrils and nasal patency. Patient and surgeon assessments were compared.


METHODS
Both patient and surgeon opinions were obtained using a self-designed questionnaire covering the aim of the surgery, the most important positive and negative post-operative results, a general rating of the postoperative result and a rating of the pre-operative information given by the surgeon. We compared patient and surgeon views about the late (between 6 and 18 months) post-operative result of septorhinoplasty using Kappa statistics.


RESULTS
Sixty-nine patients were studied; 44 responded. The match between patient and surgeon views was closest in respect of the pre-operative aims and negative post-operative results. Patient and surgeon opinions differed most in terms of why a result was positive: nasal width was a more important issue for patients, and nasal symmetry was more important to the surgeon. Nasal patency and profile were equally important to both. The general rating on a visual analogue scale was a mean of 7.05 out of 10. The quality of the pre-operative information was found to be good by most patients.


CONCLUSIONS
Using a self-designed questionnaire for septorhinoplasty, we mainly found significant differences between patient and surgeon opinions in the post-operative evaluation of why results of the surgery are positively appreciated.
Claes
G
G
ENT Department, Antwerp University Hospital, University of Antwerp, Edegem, Belgium. jos.claes@uza.be
Claes
J
J
Wuyts
F L
FL
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D015331:Cohort Studies; D004954:Esthetics; D005260:Female; D006040:Goals; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009300:Nasal Septum / Q000473:pathology / Q000601:surgery*; D017060:Patient Satisfaction; D010820:Physicians / Q000523:psychology*; D012225:Rhinoplasty; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D016896:Treatment Outcome; D055815:Young Adult