Inferior turbinate @entity1184 is the most common cause of chronic @entity8968 . When conservative medical treatment options fail in @entity1 with inferior turbinate @entity1184 , reduction of the inferior turbinate can be performed using surgical techniques. Laser-assisted turbinate surgery has the advantages of limited tissue trauma and reduced @entity548 . We evaluated the effectiveness and outcomes of using a diode laser (   = 980 nm) in turbinate reduction. Our study included 62 @entity1 with symptoms of @entity8968 due to @entity1184 , who did not respond to medical treatment (>=  1 year). @entity1 were treated with diode laser between January 2009 and December 2010 in our ENT (ear, nose, and throat) department. Subjective outcome of severity of @entity8968 was assessed on a standard 10-cm visual analog scale (VAS). Acoustic rhinometry was used to measure nasal patency. The cross-sectional areas 1, 2, and 3 and the volumes between 2.5 and 5.5 cm were measured. VAS scores and acoustic rhinometry measurements were performed preoperatively and 1, 6, and 12 months after surgery. The mean follow-up was 13.1    1 months. The mean operation time was 3 min per turbinate; no nasal packing was necessary. We did not observe any major complications. Both subjective and objective evaluations showed significant improvement. VAS scores improved, the mean MCA2, MCA3, and V2-5 measurements increased significantly 1 year after surgery. In the first year after surgery, 53 of 62 (85.4%) @entity1 reported marked improvements in nasal breathing. Our results showed that, objectively and subjectively, the success rates in diode laser-assisted turbinate reduction were satisfactory. The diode laser, being one of the most portable and least expensive of the lasers available for turbinate surgery, makes it possible for turbinate reduction to be performed under topical anesthesia within a short period of time with excellent @entity1 acceptance.

Diode laser treatment of XXXX and evaluation of the results with acoustic rhinometry.

@entity1184 :: ('MESH:D006984', 'Disease') :: ['hypertrophic inferior turbinates', 'hypertrophy'] @entity1 :: ('9606', 'Species') :: ['Patients', 'patients', 'patient'] @entity8968 :: ('MESH:D015508', 'Disease') :: ['nasal obstruction'] @entity548 :: ('MESH:D006470', 'Disease') :: ['bleeding']
@entity1184 :: (MESH:D006984,Disease) :: ['hypertrophic inferior turbinates']
