(A411) Efficacy of a Multidisciplinary Surgeon Team Approach to Pediatric Endoscopic Septorhinoplasty

Introduction: This study describes and investigates the efficacy of a novel approach to pediatric endoscopic septorhinoplasties performed by a dual-surgeon team composed of a plastic surgeon and otolaryngologist. By analyzing the procedural times and complication rates of the dual-surgeon approach, otolaryngologists and plastic surgeons who practice in the same setting may consider collaboration with this technique.

Methods: This IRB approved descriptive study analyzed the surgical times and complication rates post-operatively for patients who received endoscopic septorhinoplasties performed by a multidisciplinary surgeon team at a single institution, large children’s hospital. A literature review of PubMed was performed by searching the terms "endoscopic septorhinoplasty", "pediatric septorhinoplasty" and "multidisciplinary surgeon team". After, electronic medical records of patients who had undergone septorhinoplasty by either the multidisciplinary surgeon team or the plastic surgeon alone from January 2020 through July 2024 were compiled. Additionally, patients with cleft lip or palate were analyzed as a subgroup. Procedure times, number of procedures performed, emergency department visits, calls from parents regarding bleeding or pain, and revisions were collected and analyzed. These values were compiled, and means were compared across the groups.

Results: The multidisciplinary surgeon team septorhinoplasties were found to be an average of 25.14 minutes (14.6%) longer than the solo surgeon septorhinoplasties. However, 100% of the multidisciplinary dual-surgeon group patients had other procedures performed compared to just 66.6% of the solo-surgeon group. Complication rates were similar in both groups and subgroups.

Conclusions: While the dual surgeon team had longer average surgical times, this likely was due to these patients having more procedures done during the same anesthesia event. This potential increase in time should be weighed against possible functional benefits provided by the endoscope and multidisciplinary team when considering this approach to septorhinoplasty.