Investigation of smell and acoustic changes after septoplasty/septorhinoplasty

Aim: İn our study we aimed to determine the olfactory and acoustical changes after the operation of Septoplasty / septorinoplasty, which was performed frequently in our clinic of Otorhinolaryngology. Materials and Methods: Our study was conducted between January and June of 2016 with 70 patients admitted to Dicle University Medical Faculty Ear, Nose and Throat Polyclinic due to difficulty breathing, nasal obstruction and malformation. Twenty-two patients were female and 48 were male. . Patients' anamnesis was questioned and nasal and laryngeal examinations were performed. 40 patients underwent septoplasty operation with Cottle method, and the remaining 30 patients underwent functional septorinoplasty operation with open technique. With the "Sniffin 'Sticks" test, odor threshold, odor discrimination and odor identification scores were checked. The AKG C1000 microphone was used for sound recording and Adobe Audition CS6 version 5 software was used for audio recording. These voice recordings were evaluated with the Vospector and Voice Protocol module of the LingWAVES (Wevosys, Germany, version 2.6) program, which is one of the most popular voice analysis programs today. In the Vospector module; the mean fundamental frequency (Mean F0, Hz), the maximum fundamental frequency (Max F0, Hz), the minimum fundamental frequency (Min F0, Hz), the Shimmer and Jitter and Glottal to Noise Excitation ratio (GNE) parameters were used to evaluate the sound acoustics and sensory analysis of the sound were evaluated with parameters of Irregularity, Noise, Overall Severity. In the Voice Protocol module ; S / Z ratio and Maximum Phonation Time (MPT) parameters were used to evaluate the aerodynamic characteristics of the voice. Odor test and voice analysis were performed preoperatively and after the surgery at 3 months. The odor test was done for both noses. Results : A significant increase was observed as a result of the statistical comparison of the values of the odor threshold, odor discrimination and odor identification tests and the TDI (threshold, discrimination and identification ) scoring performed with the "Sniffin 'Sticks" test for both noses preoperatively and postoperatively. When the preoperative and postoperative acoustic parameters were compared in the patients who had undergone septoplasty, significant differences were observed in Glottic noise excitation ratio (GNE), Noisea and Maximum Phonation Time parameters, but no significant difference was observed in other parameters. When the preoperative and postoperative acoustic parameters were compared in septorinoplasty patients, significant differences were observed in Shimmer, irregularity, Overall Severity, and Maximum Phonation Time parameters, but no significant difference was observed in other parameters. Discussion: In otolaryngology clinics, septal deviation is a common pathology and Septoplasty / septorinoplasty surgeries are also frequent. As a result of our study, the air reaching the olfactory tract was increased after surgery of the septoplasty / septorinoplasty; Sniffin 'Sticks' odor test showed that these surgeries had a positive effect on odor. The increase in vital capacities of patients after septoplasty / septorinoplasty was determined by objective sound analysis ( Maximum phonation time elongated) . Our patient had also expressed this change after the operation. Therefore, patients who are to undergo septoplasty / septorinoplasty should be informed about possible changes in characteristics of the voice after surgery. Surgery has a positive effect on odor. Key words: acoustic, odor, septoplasty, septorinoplasty