If you have chronic nasal congestion, it could be due to an obstruction caused by the shape of your internal nasal valve. A new device is designed to permanently address the problem, without the need for surgery.
While medication and breathing strips or stents can help to temporarily open up problematic nasal valves, surgery is typically the only long-term solution. Aerin Medical's non-invasive Vivaer Nasal Airway Remodeling device, however, is now also claimed to do the job permanently. It does so via a quick outpatient procedure performed in a doctor's office, in which radiofrequency energy is applied to cartilage using a wand that is inserted up the nose.
"What this technology does is reshape the internal nasal valve region, which is a region where cartilage on the side of your nose meets your septum," says The Ohio State University's Dr. Brad Otto, leader of an ongoing clinical trial. "Basically what it causes the cartilage to do is barely denature and change its shape just a little bit in order to open up that valve and improve airflow to that region."
CT scans are taken before and after the procedure, in order to see how the air flow through the patient's nasal cavity is affected.
Should you be interested in taking part in the clinical trial, its organizers are still recruiting test subjects, and can be contacted online. There's more information on the device in the video below.
Sources: The Ohio State University, Aerin Medical
