Is turbinate surgery necessary when performing a septoplasty?

Many otolaryngologists perform septoplasty with or without turbinate surgery and the surgical method relies largely on the surgeon’s clinical judgment. This study used computed tomography (CT) of the sinuses of 20 patients to examine the correlation between a unilateral deviated nasal septum and compensatory hypertrophy of the contralateral inferior turbinate to suggest guidelines for septal and turbinate surgery. The thickness of the mucosa and conchal bone, the projection angle of the conchal bone, and the distances between the conchal bone, and lateral nasal line and median line were measured. The volume of the inferior turbinate was measured from the three-dimensional reconstruction. Each measurement was compared with those of the nasal cavity on the contralateral and of normal control subjects. The inferior turbinate on the concave side had a significantly greater volume, including the thickness of medial mucosa and the thickness and projection angle of conchal bone. Septoplasty and concomitant inferior turbinate surgery to manipulate conchal bone and soft tissues are necessary for treatment of those patients with unilateral nasal septal deviation and compensatory hypertrophy of the contralateral inferior turbinate.