Dissemin is shutting down on January 1st, 2025

Published in

Oceanside Publications Inc, American Journal of Rhinology and Allergy, p. 194589242211379, 2022

DOI: 10.1177/19458924221137982

Links

Tools

Export citation

Search in Google Scholar

The Impact of Adhesions on Nasal Airflow: A Quantitative Analysis Using Computational Fluid Dynamics

This paper is made freely available by the publisher.
This paper is made freely available by the publisher.

Full text: Download

Question mark in circle
Preprint: policy unknown
Question mark in circle
Postprint: policy unknown
Question mark in circle
Published version: policy unknown
Data provided by SHERPA/RoMEO

Abstract

Background Nasal adhesions (NAs) are a known complication of nasal airway surgery. Even minor NAs can lead to significant postoperative nasal airway obstruction (NAO). Division of such NAs often provides much greater relief than anticipated. Objective We examine the impact of NAs at various anatomical sites on nasal airflow and mucosal cooling using computational fluid dynamics (CFD) and multiple test subjects. Methods CT scans of healthy adult subjects were used to construct three-dimensional nasal airway computational models. A single virtual 2.5 mm diameter NA was placed at one of five sites commonly seen following NAO surgery within each nasal cavity bilaterally, resulting in 10 NA models and 1 NA-free control for each subject. CFD analysis was performed on each NA model and compared with the subject's NA-free control model. Results 4 subjects were recruited to create 44 computational models. The NAs caused the airflow streamlines to separate, leading to a statistically significant increase in mucosal temperature immediately downstream to the NAs (wake region). Changes in the mucosal temperature in the wake region of the NAs were most prominent in anteriorly located NAs with a mean increase of 1.62 °C for the anterior inferior turbinate NAs ( P < .001) and 0.63 °C for the internal valve NAs ( P < .001). Conclusion NAs result in marked disruption to airflow patterns and reduced mucosal cooling on critical surfaces, particularly in the wake region. Reduced wake region mucosal cooling may be a contributing factor to the exaggerated perception of nasal obstruction experienced by patients with NAs.