ABSTRACT
Surgery to correct nasal obstruction has an important role in the treatment of sleep disordered breathing (SDB), particularly snoring and obstructive sleep apnea (OSA). Rarely will opening an obstructed nasal airway cure snoring and/or obstructive sleep apnea; however, it usually has a very positive effect on improving the quality of life in these patients and may substantially improve OSA in some (1). First and foremost, chronic nasal obstruction is an unpleasant symptom, independent of the presence of a sleep disorder. Indications for the surgical treatment of nasal obstruction are similar in patients with and without sleep disordered breathing: the presence of nasal obstruction secondary to septal deviation, chronically enlarged turbinates, or incompetent nasal valves plus failure or unacceptance of medical management, if indicated. A combination of these disordersmay exist and other less common causes of obstructionmay be present such as nasal polyps or other nasal and nasopharyngeal tumors.
