Pathological Review of Turbinate Tissue from Functional Nasal Surgery: Incurring Costs without Adding Quality

ObjectiveInferior turbinate surgery for nasal obstruction can be performed in a variety of ways. Only a few of these methods produce tissue that can be sent for pathologic analysis. According to the College of American Pathologists, turbinate tissues are not exempt from requisite pathologic evaluation. Our objectives were to evaluate the clinical value and cost implications of routine pathological examination of turbinate specimens.Study DesignCase series with chart review.SettingAcademic tertiary care medical center.Subjects and MethodsCharts of patients who underwent an inferior turbinate procedure for nasal obstruction between January 2008 and August 2011 were reviewed.ResultsThirteen hundred consecutive cases from 17 surgeons were identified. Among these patients, 223 (17%) underwent an isolated turbinate reduction procedure and 779 (59%) underwent a reduction procedure in conjunction with a septoplasty. The remaining patients had a turbinate procedure in addition to another head and neck procedure. O...