Comparative assessment of monopolar and bipolar radiofrequency surgery of inferior turbinate.

OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to compare early outcomes of monopolar (MP) and bipolar (BP) radiofrequency (RF) treatment of inferior turbinate hypertrophy from the perspective of both the patient and the surgeon.

STUDY DESIGN: Prospective, randomized, single-blind study.

MATERIALS AND METHODS: Seventy-one patients with inferior turbinate hypertrophy resistant to medical treatment. BP RF was used in 36 patients and MP RF in 35 patients, respectively. Patients received no other treatment during a 6-month follow-up. They were evaluated for symptoms such as nasal obstruction severity, nasal obstruction frequency, postnasal drip, nasal crusting, hyposmia, patient satisfaction, and preoperative pain with the use of a visual analogue scale (VAS) before surgery and then 1 and 7 days as well as 1, 3, and 6 months after surgery.

RESULTS: No significant difference was observed regarding symptoms of patients after BP and MP inferior turbinate RF surgery in a long-term follow-up. Patients treated with MP RF showed early symptom improvement on days 1 and 7 days after surgery compared to the BP group. Procedure duration of MP RF was longer than that of BP RF. Pain during surgery was reported more frequently in the BP group.

CONCLUSION: MP and BP RF treatment showed no difference in long-term efficacy. However, MP RF therapy was associated with early symptom improvement and less pain reported by patients in comparison to the BP RF group.