Analysis of nasal air flow following repair of vestibular stenosis.

OBJECTIVE

Vestibular stenosis is an uncommon but debilitating cause of nasal obstruction. The etiology of the stenosis is variable, but iatrogenic causes are by far the most common. A number of techniques have been described for repair of the stenotic segment. We present a surgical technique that employs the concepts of: excision of the stenotic segment, enlargement of the bony pyriform aperture, and placement of a full-thickness skin graft.

RESULTS

Our results have been very favourable, and we have documented improvement in nasal obstruction by performing preoperative and postoperative nasal airflow studies on all our patients.

CONCLUSIONS

These results suggest that significant improvement in nasal airflow can be obtained in most patients with the use of this technique.