Objective/hypothesis: Lateral synechia formation between the middle turbinate (MT) and the lateral nasal wall is the most common complication of endoscopic sinus surgery. In an attempt to prevent this complication, a simple technique to preserve and medialize the MT was studied.
Methods: Five hundred patients underwent endoscopic sinus surgery with MT medialization and preservation. The caudal end of the MT and the opposing septal mucosa were abraded with a microdebrider for controlled synechia formation in an attempt to avoid lateralization of the MT. Follow-up ranged from 6 to 18 months, with a mean follow-up of 10 months.
Results: Ninety-three percent of the patients had successful MT medialization with a well-defined synechia between the septum and the MT.
Conclusions: MT medialization with a microdebrider is simple, is reliable, and should be considered an alternative to turbinate resection or to other turbinate medialization techniques.