POSTOPERATIVE EFFECT OF SEPTOPLASTY ON PREOPERATIVE HEADACHE INDUCED NASAL SEPTAL DEVIATION
Anatomical variability in the sinonasal area may result in long standing and refractory headaches which can be managed by surgery. Aim to assess the incidence of headache in patients with nasal septal deviation and the response to surgery. Our prospective and observational investigation included 115 participants, of both sexes, aged 27 -36 years and with nasal septaldeviations who were assigned for septoplasty at King Hussein hospital/ King Hussein medical center/ Amman and at Prince Hashim hospital/Zarqa, Jordan, during the period Jan 2014-Dec 2015. Preoperative data regarding incidence of headache and its characteristics were obtained. Postoperative modifications regarding the character of headache in patients were recorded at 6 and 24 months intervals. Headache was scored on a s cale from 0 to 5. All patients were scheduled forseptoplasty under general endotracheal anesthesia. Postoperatively; all patients had interior nasal packs, which were removed one week later. Preoperative headache incidence was reported to be 41.7% (48). The most frequent location of the headache was the frontal area (60.4%, 29). Patient’s headache was bilateral in 68.8 %(33) of participants. In 75 % (36) of participants, heada che was less than three hours per day. The most frequent type of headache was pulsatile in 47.9% (23) of patients. Postoperatively, gradual recovery in patient’s headache was recorded in 81.6% (31) of patients with total or partial recovery of the headache after a period of postoperative 24 months. Headache is one of the most frequent complaints in patients with nasal anatomical variability such as septal deviation and commonly managed by surgery