The effect of 3 % hydrogen peroxide irrigation on postoperative complications of rhinoplasty: A double-blinded, placebo-controlled Randomized Clinical Trial.

The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of irrigation with 3% Hydrogen Peroxide solution on early complications of rhinoplasty. Volunteers who had physical status of ASA I were included in the study after informed written consent. This was a randomized, double-blinded, placebo-controlled clinical trial. Standard open rhinoplasty technique was performed for all patients. All patients underwent the same general anesthesia and post-operative analgesic protocol and the only difference between the two studied groups was the use of hydrogen peroxide for irrigation at the end of surgery. Finally, patients were examined for edema, inflammation, ecchymosis, and infections during 8 weeks after surgery. 50 volunteers (43 female and 7 male) with the mean age of 27.84 ± 7.64 were included in this study. Edema scores were constantly lower in the intervention group (p < 0.001), so was the median inflammation score (p < 0.001). However, there was no significant difference in ecchymosis between the two groups (p > 0.05). No cases of post-operative infection were reported in any of the study groups. In conclusion, within the limitations of the study, it seems that irrigation with HO should be applied whenever appropriate, because of its potential positive effects.