title: Surgical repair of nasal septal perforations: an update.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Nasal septal perforations can have a substantial impact on patient's nasal breathing and subsequent quality of life. Various surgical techniques have previously been described for the repair of these perforations. In this review, we examine the most recent literature evaluating surgical techniques for the repair of nasal septal perforations.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Twenty-seven studies evaluating 646 patients were included. None of these studies compared different surgical techniques. Four major categories of surgical techniques are described: multilayer, single layer, patch, and resection. Within these broad categories there is much heterogeneity in both the individual surgical technique and material used for reconstruction. However, the overall closure rate in all studies evaluated was 88%.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The diversity in surgical techniques demonstrated in this review would indicate that surgeons are not satisfied with the current surgical approaches for the repair of nasal septal perforations. However, the overall closure rates presented in this review are very favorable. Future comparative studies are needed to better evaluate these techniques.
authors.affiliation: Department of Otorhinolaryngology - Head and Neck Surgery, University of Pennsylvania Medical Center, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA.
authors.forename: Eamon J
authors.initials: EJ
authors.lastname: McLaughlin
authors.forename: Oren
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Friedman
mesh_terms: D006801:Humans; D009300:Nasal Septum / Q000473:pathology* / Q000601:surgery*; D009667:Nose Deformities, Acquired / Q000601:surgery*; D011788:Quality of Life; D012225:Rhinoplasty / Q000379:methods*; D014945:Wound Healing / Q000502:physiology