This is a retrospective review of 281 patients, all of whom underwent elective septoplasty. Simply put, those who smoked displayed a much higher postoperative septal perforation rate than those who did not.
So, some cautionary advice for patients undergoing this common ENT surgical procedure should be considered. The rates of perforation were 8/88 in the smoking group, and 1/193 in the non-smokers, a compelling finding.
There may be a dose dependent relationship, where a higher a number of cigarettes smoked daily may confer a bigger risk. In short, don’t smoke after septal surgery!
