Natural History of the Standardized Cosmesis and Health Nasal Outcomes Survey After Rhinoplasty
Cherian K. Kandathil, Mikhail Saltychev, Priyesh N. Patel, Sam P. Most
Abstract
OBJECTIVES/HYPOTHESIS: To explore the natural history of nasal obstruction and cosmesis following rhinoplasty by utilizing the Standardized Cosmesis and Health Nasal Outcomes Survey (SCHNOS). STUDY DESIGN: Retrospective chart study. METHODS: This study was carried out at a tertiary referral center, preoperative and postoperative Nasal Obstruction Symptom Evaluation (NOSE), SCHNOS-Obstruction (SCHNOS-O), and SCHNOS-Cosmesis (SCHNOS-C) scores in patients who underwent rhinoplasty for functional, cosmetic, or both reasons from June 2017 to May 2019 were reviewed and analyzed. Postoperative intervals were defined as <2 months, 2 to 5 months, 5 to 8 months, 8 to 12 months, and >12 months. RESULTS: A total of 302 patients (67% women), with a mean age (standard deviation [SD]) of 35 (13) years, who underwent rhinoplasty for functional (90, 30%), cosmetic (124, 41%), and combined functional and cosmetic (88, 29%) reasons, met inclusion criteria. The mean follow-up period (SD, range) was 5 months (4.2 months, 13 days-1.8 years). Compared to the preoperative mean NOSE score, SCHNOS- O, and SCHNOS-C scores, postoperative mean scores for the functional and combined subgroup were significantly lower (P < .05) across all five postoperative intervals. In the cosmetic subgroup, postoperative mean SCHNOS-C scores were significantly lower (P < .05) across all postoperative intervals compared to the mean preoperative scores. CONCLUSIONS: The natural history of the SCHNOS-O and SCHNOS-C score in patients who underwent rhinoplasty demonstrates 1) after functional rhinoplasty, an improvement in nasal breathing symptoms is attained as early as <2 months postoperatively; and 2) after cosmetic rhinoplasty, an improvement in nasal cosmesis is seen as early as <2 months postoperatively. These improvements in nasal breathing and cosmesis are sustained through a follow-up interval >12 months. LEVEL OF EVIDENCE: 4 Laryngoscope, 131:E116-E123, 2021.