Patient comfort following FESS and Nasopore® packing, a double blind, prospective, randomized trial

Background: The use of nasal packing after functional endoscopic sinus surgery (FESS) is often associated with pain and a feeling of pressure for patients. The aim of the present work was to investigate a modern wound dressing made of polyurethane (Nasopore) that makes removal of the nasal packing unnecessary and is focussed on patient comfort. Methodology: Following bilateral FESS, after randomisation, one side was packed with Nasopore while the other side was without packing as a control. The following parameters from 47 patients were determined daily in two centres from post-operative day 1 for the duration of the inpatient stay in a double-blinded setting: side-specific post-operative bleeding, nasal breathing and feeling of pressure as well as the general parameters sleep disturbance, headaches and general well-being. Which side patients considered subjectively the better was also recorded. Results: No significant differences were determined between the two sides in terms of the rates of post-operative bleeding and nasal breathing. The feeling of pressure was slightly less on the side packed with Nasopore on post-operative days 2 and 3. No trend could be observed regarding which side patients described as being subjectively better. Conclusion: There were only slight differences in patient comfort between the Nasopore side and the control. Because the feeling of pressure in the midface was significantly less and there were no complications, this suggests there is greater patient comfort when using Nasopore (R) compared to using no nasal packing.