A titanium plate in the nose can be a solution for breathing problems due to a too narrow inside of the nose (the valve area). The plate makes the nose wider, making breathing easier. This effect lasts for years, according to recent research at the Radboud University Medical Center in Nijmegen. ENT doctor Niels van Heerbeek talks about the study and the procedure.
The implant became available in 2003. But it is not the first choice of treatment for breathing problems due to a narrow valve area in the nose, because there are many different reasons for a narrow valve area. “There are no guidelines for the treatment of nasal valve insufficiency,” Van Heerbeek said. “We advise these patients to try a nasal patch or clamp in the nose for a few weeks. They open the nose more. If that helps, we can leave it at that in consultation with the patient. For example, if someone has trouble breathing, especially at night, and a plaster or clip is fine. And otherwise, the titanium implant is an option. This is applied surgically. “
“Most of them improved with an implant”
ENT Doctor Niels van Heerbeek
Little published
This breathing problem does not happen often. The surgery is performed twenty to thirty times a year at Radboud University Medical Center and Van Heerbeek knows colleagues in several other hospitals who also perform this procedure. “But many hospitals are actually not treatment. Yes d
