Bioabsorbable packs, which are frequently used after nasal surgery, have been recently deemed more comfortable than removable packs. If these packs cause lower levels of eustachian dysfunction than silicone nasal splint with integral airway, they would be a good alternative for nasal packing after septoplasty.

To compare the effects of chitosan-based biodegradable nasal packs and silicone nasal septal splints with integral airway on the ventilation and pressure of the middle ear after septoplasty in patients with normal otoscopic examination.

Patients who underwent septoplasty for nasal septal deviation with otoscopically-normal tympanic membranes and bilateral, normal type-A preoperative tympanograms were included. Following surgery, the patients were randomized into two groups (group P: chitosan-based biodegradable nasal packs; group S: silicone nasal septal splint).

The tympanometric pressures of all patients in both groups decreased, but more so in group S in the first 24 hours following surgery. These pressure differences between the 2 groups in the first 48 hours following surgery were statistically significant.

The present study demonstrated that chitosan-based biodegradable nasal packs would be a good alternative for nasal packing after septoplasty.

• All procedures in studies involving human participants were performed in accordance with the ethical standards of the national research committee and the 1964 Helsinki declaration and its later amendments or comparable ethical standards.

• Informed consent: informed consent was obtained from all individual participants included in the study.

• The research protocol was submitted to and approved by the Sakarya University Ethics Committee (on July 5th, 2021; no.: 115).

Received: 13 July 2024

Accepted: 31 January 2025

Article published online:
10 September 2025

© 2025. The Author(s). This is an open access article published by Thieme under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License, permitting copying and reproduction so long as the original work is given appropriate credit (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/)

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Bibliographical Record
Halil Elden, Mahmut S. Yilmaz, Ahmet Cihan, Ebru M. Guven, Ahmet Kara. Effect of Chitosan-Based Biodegradable Nasal Packs on Eustachian Dysfunction after Septoplasty. Int Arch Otorhinolaryngol 2025; 29: s00451809433.
DOI: 10.1055/s-0045-1809433