BACKGROUND: Perforations in the nasal septum (NSP) give rise not only to disintegration of the septum anatomy but also impairment in normal nasal physiology. The successes of these surgical techniques are usually equated to anatomical closure of the perforation. The goal of this study is to evaluate the subjective and objective results of our surgical technique for septal perforation surgery. METHODS: All NSPs in the six patients were closed by inferior turbinate flap. The Nasal Obstruction Symptom Evaluation (NOSE) instrument was used to evaluate the preoperative and postoperative subjective sensation of nasal obstruction. Measurement of preoperative and postoperative nasal airway resistance was performed using active anterior rhinomanometry which is an objective test. Wilcoxson signed rank test and Spearman correlation test were used to analyze correlation between NOSE scores and rhinomanometric measurements. RESULTS: The full closure of the septal perforations was noted in 100% of patients. The total NOSE score was 14 preoperatively and one postoperatively. The improvement in NOSE scores was statistically significant (P< or =0.002). The mean preoperative total resistance (ResT150) value was 0.13 Pa/cm(3)s(-1), which is below the normal range (0.16-0.31 Pa/cm(3)s(-1)), while the mean postoperative ResT150 value was 0.27 Pa/cm3s-1. The correlation between the improvement in NOSE scores and improvements in ResT150 values was statistically significant. CONCLUSIONS: Surgical approaches should aim to solve both the anatomical and physiological problems of NSP. The application of subjective and objective tests in the postoperative period will help surgeons assess the applied techniques.
Airway Resistance ; Humans ; Nasal Obstruction ; Nasal Septal Perforation* ; Nasal Septum ; Nose ; Physiology ; Postoperative Period ; Reference Values ; Rhinomanometry ; Sensation ; Symptom Assessment ; Turbinates

PURPOSE: Although several surface treatments have been recently investigated both under in vitro and in vivo conditions, controversy still exists regarding the selection of the most appropriate zirconia surface pre-treatment. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effect of alumina (Al) and aluminium nitride (AlN) coating on the shear bond strength of adhesive resin cement to zirconia core. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Fifty zirconia core discs were divided into 5 groups; air particle abrasion with 50 microm aluminum oxide particles (Al2O3), polishing + Al coating, polishing + AlN coating, air particle abrasion with 50 microm Al2O3 + Al coating and air particle abrasion with 50 microm Al2O3 + AlN coating. Composite resin discs were cemented to each of specimens. Shear bond strength (MPa) was measured using a universal testing machine. The effects of the surface preparations on each specimen were examined with scanning electron microscope (SEM). Data were statistically analyzed by one-way ANOVA (alpha=.05). RESULTS: The highest bond strengths were obtained by air abrasion with 50 microm Al2O3, the lowest bond strengths were obtained in polishing + Al coating group (P<.05). CONCLUSION: Al and AlN coatings using the reactive magnetron sputtering technique were found to be ineffective to increase the bond strength of adhesive resin cement to zirconia core.
Adhesives ; Aluminum Oxide* ; Collodion ; Resin Cements ; Zirconium