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ASOHNS ASM 2026
Economic Evaluation of Intranasal Wound Dressings Used in Inferior Turbinate Reduction Surgery
Verbal Presentation

Verbal Presentation

4:40 pm

21 March 2026

Chancellor Room 6

Concurrent Session 4D - General ENT

Themes

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Talk Description

Institution: Macquarie University Hospital - NSW, Australia

Background: Post-operative haemorrhage is a recognised complication of inferior turbinate reduction (ITR) surgery. Concerns regarding secondary bleeding and ooze have led surgeons to develop strong preferences for specific intranasal wound dressings. Numerous dressings exist with differing characteristics, proposed benefits and costs, but whether these differences influence haemorrhage rates remains unclear. This study aimed to describe the use, diversity and cost of intranasal dressings in ITR surgery and the associated rates of secondary haemorrhage and other complications. Method: An audit of consecutive patients who underwent ITR surgery at Macquarie University Hospital was performed. Dressing type, use and cost were extracted from the electronic medical record. Patients completed a three-item survey ≥90 days post-surgery assessing secondary haemorrhage, crusting and infection. Results: Two hundred patients were included (mean age 27.9 ± 17.6 years; 32.5% female). Secondary haemorrhage occurred in 3.0% of patients (95% CI 1.1–6.4%), with one requiring operative management (0.5%). Other complications occurred in 2.0%. Most patients (85.5%) received an intranasal dressing, with a median cost of $45 [$34–634]. Dressing use did not differ significantly between uneventful and haemorrhage groups (85.6% vs 83.3%, p = 1.0). Dressing cost also did not differ (median $45 [34–634] vs $45 [34–136], p = 0.916). Substantial cost variability existed across dressing types. Conclusions: Substantial variation exists in the use and cost of intranasal dressings used in ITR surgery, without corresponding differences in complication rates. Although the small sample size may limit the findings, these findings highlight the need to balance clinical benefit against cost when selecting intranasal dressings and supports further prospective evaluation of dressing use in ITR surgery.
Presenters
Authors
Authors

Dr Natasha Niles - , A/Prof Hubert Low - , Dr Michael Barakate - , Dr Robert Boustred - , A/Prof Raewyn G Campbell - , Dr Nicholas Jufas - , Dr Jonathan Kong - , Dr Tony Kuo - , A/Prof Payal Mukherjee - , A/Prof Yuresh Naidoo - , Dr Arjuna Nirmalananda - , Prof Nirmal Patel - , Prof Faruque Riffat - , Prof Raymond Sacks - , Dr Rahuram Sivasubramaniam - , Dr Mark C Smith - , Dr Andrew Wignall - , Prof Richard J Harvey -