Background: The aim of this study was to compare subgroups of smokers and nonsmokers undergoing nasal surgery and to evaluate improvement of nasal stuffiness, snoring, and symptoms related to sleep-disordered breathing after nasal surgery.
Methods: A cross-sectional prospective study was performed. The study population included 40 consecutive snoring men scheduled for surgical treatment of nasal obstruction. The patients completed nasal and sleep questionnaires, an Epworth sleepiness scale, and a visual analog scale of snoring intensity. They underwent polysomnography, anterior rhinomanometry, acoustic rhinometry, and cephalometric analysis.
Results: The smokers were younger, they snored longer and louder, and they had higher nasal resistance with decongestion and longer soft palates than the nonsmokers. Nasal stuffiness improved well after surgery, but a decrease of nasal resistance was not related to improvement of subjective snoring.
Conclusion: Smoking was associated with increased snoring, nasal obstruction, and pharyngeal soft tissue volume. Expectations of patients may influence subjective assessment of snoring after nasal surgery.