94% of researchers rate our articles as excellent or good
Learn more about the work of our research integrity team to safeguard the quality of each article we publish.
Find out more
REVIEW article
Front. Surg.
Sec. Otorhinolaryngology - Head and Neck Surgery
Volume 12 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fsurg.2025.1549915
This article is part of the Research Topic Advancements in Diagnostic Tools and Techniques for Improved Septoplasty Success View all articles
Nasal valve obstruction: a comprehensive analysis of the current literature and proposal of a management algorithm
Provisionally accepted- 1 Auckland City Hospital, Auckland, New Zealand
- 2 The University of Auckland, Auckland, Auckland, New Zealand
Nasal valve obstruction (NVO) remains challenging to diagnose and treat. This review explores the persisting controversies of NVO management, emphasising the lack of consensus in diagnostic criteria and treatment protocols among otolaryngologists and facial plastic surgeons. Recent surveys highlight the central dilemma: for many patients who have both septal deviation and NVO, a septoplasty alone provides adequate symptomatic improvement. However, some with this combination of problems continue to be troubled by nasal obstruction if only a septoplasty is performed. This underscores the critical question of when NVO necessitates specific surgical intervention. The varying diagnostic approaches that have been used and the limited outcome data currently available conspire to make this question difficult to answer with certainty. This review will also address the role of the inferior turbinates in NVO management, proposing their inclusion in NVO surgical planning. Other techniques will also be discussed for their potential impact on nasal valve dynamics. Both endonasal and open approaches to correcting the caudal septum need to be considered when discussing NVO repair.A treatment algorithm for NVO will be presented as a practical guide for the management of this condition.
Keywords: Nasal valve, Valve collapse, Nasal Obstruction, nasal obstruction measurement, nasal valve repair
Received: 22 Dec 2024; Accepted: 04 Mar 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Pirola, Kim and Douglas. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence:
Francesca Pirola, Auckland City Hospital, Auckland, New Zealand
Raymond Kim, Auckland City Hospital, Auckland, New Zealand
Disclaimer: All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.