THE USE OF INTRANASAL SPLINTS - A CONSULTANT SURVEY

A questionnaire was sent to all United Kingdom consultants enquiring about their use of intra-nasal splints. 301 (70%) consultants replied. The commonest reason given for use of nasal splints was to try to prevent the formation of adhesions. Flat, pre-shaped silicone rubber splints were by far the most frequently used type. 64% used splints routinely for operations involving both walls of the nasal cavity. Just over one-third of respondents never or 'rarely' (less than 1 in 50 cases) used splints for procedures involving both walls of the nasal cavity. They reported an adhesion rate of 5.2% which, was only 1.3% greater than that reported by those who always or 'sometimes' (at least 1 in 10 cases) used splints. Comments from some repondents and review of the literature suggests that early out-patient review with the use of nasal toilet is an effective alternative to using nasal splints in the prevention of intranasal adhesions.