Abstract
Objectives/Hypothesis:
This prospective study aimed to investigate changes in quality of life (QOL) after nasal surgery.
Study Design:
Prospective study.
Methods:
A total of 788 patients (492 men and 296 women; age range, 9–81 years; mean age, 41 years) were included in this prospective study. Three hundred thirty‐six patients received sinus surgery, 358 received septum surgery, and 94 additional patients received sinus surgery involving the septum. QOL was assessed with a standardized questionnaire for general health and well‐being (36‐Item Short Form Health Survey [SF‐36]). Additionally, subjective sinunasal impairment was collected using the Rhinosinusitis Disability Index (RSBI). QOL and subjective sinunasal impairment were retested 4 months after surgery (63–339 days after surgery; mean, 128 days) in 361 patients.
Results:
In the RSBI severity scale, 29.5% of the patients rated their sinunasal problems presurgery to be of high severity, 61.2% rated them as medium, and 9.3% as minor. Postsurgery, 2.8% of the patients rated the severity of their sinunasal problems high, 35% medium, and 62.2% minor. Subjective improvement of symptoms was found in more than 80% of the patients. Presurgery, general QOL (SF‐36) was impaired in sinus patients and improved significantly after surgery. For most septum patients we found relatively little impact of sinunasal disease on general QOL (SF‐36) compared to the German normative sample.
Conclusions:
Functional endoscopic surgery seems to be a good technique for reducing sinunasal symptomatology in the majority of patients. It appears to enhance QOL in those patients who were severely affected beforehand. Long‐term investigations are currently underway to further explore the patients' subjective QOL following nasal surgery. Laryngoscope, 2010