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Empty Nose Syndrome

  • Rhinitis (JJ Oppenheimer and J Corren, Section Editors)
  • Published:
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Abstract

Empty nose syndrome (ENS) is a rare, late complication of turbinate surgery. The most common clinical symptoms are paradoxical nasal obstruction, nasal dryness and crusting, and a persistent feeling of dyspnea. Little is known about the pathogenesis of ENS, though it is speculated that anatomical changes leading to alterations in local environment, disruption of mucosal cooling, and disruption of neurosensory mechanisms are strongly implicated. The diagnosis is clinical, though often difficult to make due to the poor correlation between subjective and objective findings. Medical therapies include mucosal humidification, irrigations, and emollients. Surgical therapy should be reserved for refractory cases and may involve turbinate reconstruction, most commonly using implantable biomaterials. Ultimately, prevention of this feared complication through turbinate-sparing techniques is essential.

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Conflict of Interest

Edward C. Kuan, Jeffrey D. Suh, and Marilene Wang declare that they have no conflict of interest.

Human and Animal Rights and Informed Consent

This article does not contain any studies with human or animal subjects performed by any of the authors.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Head and Neck Surgery, David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA, 10833 Le Conte Ave, CHS 62-132, Los Angeles, CA, 90095-1624, USA

    Edward C. Kuan, Jeffrey D. Suh & Marilene B. Wang

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  1. Edward C. Kuan
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  2. Jeffrey D. Suh
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  3. Marilene B. Wang
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Correspondence to Marilene B. Wang.

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This article is part of the Topical Collection on Rhinitis

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Kuan, E.C., Suh, J.D. & Wang, M.B. Empty Nose Syndrome. Curr Allergy Asthma Rep 15, 493 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11882-014-0493-x

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11882-014-0493-x

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