Abstract

We characterized the changes in oropharyngeal and nasal flora of the patients with a deviated nasal septum before and after septoplasty. Patients who underwent septoplasty for nasal septal deviation were included in this study. Nasal and oropharyngeal cultures were taken with a sterile cotton swab preoperatively and one month after septoplasty. Antimicrobial susceptibility testing was performed using the disc method. Fifty-nine patients with a deviated nasal septum were included in the study: 29 women and 30 men, whose ages ranged from 18 to 40 years. There was no significant difference between the preoperative and postoperative (one month after surgery) isolated bacteria of the nasal and oropharyngeal regions. Septoplasty did not change the nasal and oropharyngel microbial flora in patients who underwent septoplasty for nasal septal deviation.

Key words: Septoplasty, nasal microbial flora and oropharyngeal microbial flora.