Virtual Surgery for Patients with Nasal Obstruction.

Functional Rhinoplasty can improve breathing in patients suffering from nasal obstruction. This is achieved through surgical techniques, such as septoplasty or turbinoplasty, that try to improve airflow through internal nasal cavities. Virtual surgery for patients with nasal obstruction is a fundamental 3D tool that helps Dr. Monreal to better predict which functional rhinoplasty technique will be most effective in each patient.

What is virtual surgery for patients with nasal obstruction?.

Virtual surgery consists of modifying 3D models obtained from internal nasal cavities structures, using complex software applications. This software allows Dr. Monreal to «simulate» a surgical procedure on the turbinates, nasal septum and other areas of internal nasal cavities. The «non-operated» model and the «operated» one are then submitted to an analysis known as CFD (Computational Fluis Dynamics) that allows us to obtain reliable data about air flow. In this way it is possible to compare different «virtual surgical approaches» and better predict which option will provide the best functional result.

Benefits of virtual surgery for patients with nasal obstruction.

The benefits of virtual surgery for patients with nasal obstruction are obvious.

• It is possible to obtain reliable data about patient’s airflow, identifying major problems and how they influence internal nasal airflow.
• It is possible to test different surgical procedures on the same patient to evaluate the effects of each one on nasal airflow. This greatly helps us to choose the best and least aggressive solution before proceeding with the real surgery.
• Once determined which areas should be corrected, and how, the virtual surgery can be transferred to a real surgery.

When virtual surgery for patients with nasal obstruction should be performed.

Virtual surgery for patients with nasal obstruction can be used:

• In patients who show signs of nasal obstruction caused by anatomical problems that are good candidates for surgery. Nasal septal deviations or an excessive and irreversible growth of the turbinates would be one of the main indications for virtual surgery.
• In patients with anatomical problems inside the nasal cavities that do not cause physical obstruction, but do cause a functional problem; for instance in patients with nasal septal perforations or those with empty nose syndrome.

How virtual surgery for patients with nasal obstruction is performed.

Before proceeding with virtual nose surgery Dr. Monreal will ask you to perform a facial CT scan. The images from the CT scan will then be processed using special software.
This software allows Dr. Monreal to:

• Firstly, we obtain important data about the airflow that passes through the nasal cavity by means of a complex analysis known as CFD. CFD analysis yield important data on air speed, temperature or pressure, among other values, and determine where the main problems are and how they influence airflow.
• After the first step, the virtual «operation» is then carried out, during which the affected internal nasal structures (septum, turbinates, etc.) will be modified as if it were a real patient submitted to a real surgery. As many surgeries can be performed as deemed necessary, each one with different surgical alternatives.
• Once all virtual surgeries are finished, a new CFD analysis will be carried out to evaluate which of the surgeries performed offers the best results.

One benefit of virtual surgery for patients with nasal obstruction is that Dr. Monreal can do the analysis remotely, without requiring the physical presence of the patient. The only requirement for the patient is to send the contents of a facial CT scan. Once the results of the analysis have been obtained, they will be forwarded to you as a report.

Conclusions.

Virtual surgery is undoubtedly the next step in the treatment of patients with functional and obstructive problems of the nose.

• Allows in-depth analysis of real patient problems.
• It allows us to choose the most appropriate and least aggressive treatment strategy to achieve the best possible result.
• Saves on numerous occasions unnecessary costs, suffering or unnecessarily complicated surgeries.

Additional Information.

Click here if you want to read more about Dr. Juan Monreal and access some of his published articles. Alternatively, you can use the search field below to perform a PubMed search. When performing this search you will be redirected outside this website.

You can find more information about virtual surgery for patients with nasal obstruction in the following selected articles.

• A CFD approach to understand nasoseptal perforations.
• Nasal surgery handled by CFD tools.
• Robust nondimensional estimators to assess the nasal airflow in health and disease.
• Investigation of the abnormal nasal aerodynamics and trigeminal functions among empty nose syndrome patients.

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