Haematoma and abscess of the nasal septum

Fifty-two patients with a haematoma or abscess of the nasal septum underwent surgical treatment during a period of 10 years in the ENT Department at Aalborg Hospital. Of these, 27 patients with a haematoma and 12 patients with an abscess were re-examined. In all the patients except 1, trauma was the cause of the lesion. The average delay of treatment was 48 hours for patients with a haematoma and 11 days for patients with abscesses. All these lesions were incised under general anaesthesia and treated with drainage and nasal packing. Eight patients showed cartilage resorption; none had initial cartilage implantation. Follow-up showed that 7 patients had received further surgical treatment during the observation period (mean 44 months). The frequency of nasal deformities is comparable with that of previous reports. The patients with abscesses in particular showed severe external nasal deformities; this is mainly attributable to the delay in treatment.