Comparison of merocel and regular tampon regarding comfort and problems of patients after septo-rhinoplasty surgery

Septoplasty and rhinoplasty is a common surgery that requires nasal tampon usage. The aim of this study was to compare merocel and regular (mesh or ribbon gauze) tampon regarding pain, comfort, and problems of patients after surgery. This randomized controlled clinical trial study was performed on 30 septo-rhinoplasty patients in 2009. The patients were divided into case (merocel tampon) and control (regular tampon) groups according to the odd or even days of referring. Pain was measured by VAS100 mm and comfort, nose bleeding and problems of the patients was measured by a checklist and was recorded. The data were analyzed by SPSS software (version 12) using Fisher's exact, Student-t and Mann-Whitney tests at the significance level of P<0.05. The pain in the case group (64.3±13.4) was less than the control group (83.6±14) at the time of removing the tampon (P=0.001). Moreover, discomfort feeling (P=0.01), respiratory problems and nausea (P=0.02) in the case group, was significantly less than control. No significant differences in the incidence of bleeding and other complications and problems between the two groups were observed. Although merocel tampon in comparison with regular tampon may not cause a significant decrease in the nasal bleeding, its consumption in the nasal surgery associated with less pain and more convenience for the patients.