Septal perforations – state of the art

Septal perforation is a nasal condition discovered incidentally during an ENT clinical examination. Sometimes, patients may experiment epistaxis, septal crusts at the edge of perforation, nasal obstruction, whistling, rhinorrhea or even pain.

Doctors should be familiarized with the etiology of septal perforations in order to apply the best treatment possible. This etiology includes some of the following: iatrogenic, self-injury, drugs, inflammatory diseases, etc. A very good anamnesis and clinical examination should be performed. Also, paraclinical investigations are required depending on the particular situation. Treatment should be individualized and may include conservational techniques or applying of grafts/flaps for closing the septal perforation.

In this article, some of the most frequent causes of septal perforation are reviewed, with some examples from our clinic and short reminder of steps to be taken in this case.