Adjunctive Endoscopic Procedures: Inferior Turbinoplasty

Abstract

It is not uncommon to encounter anatomical variations during an endoscopy and may need to be addressed simultaneously with lacrimal surgeries for ease of surgery and better outcomes. Proper patient assessment and a trial of medical therapy should be performed before the decision is made to reduce the turbinates. In those patients that fail medical therapy and in whom other contributing factors have been eliminated (allergies, sinus disease, etc.), turbinate reduction is a valid option with improvement of the patient’s nasal airway and frequently in their quality of life [1–3]. Occasionally the inferior turbinate may be grossly hypertrophied and one may need a turbinoplasty to gain a comfortable space for other procedures like septoplasty or even balloon lacrimal procedures of the NLD in adults.