GIRFT has developed three new pathways to support ENT teams delivering nasal airway surgery.
The three pathways build on the existing GIRFT nasal airway surgery pathway – released in 2025 – and all are clinically evidence-based, focusing on function. They are:
- Inferior turbinate reduction surgery pathway (16+): a procedure to improve nasal breathing, reducing the size of one or both inferior turbinates.
- Nasal septoplasty pathway (16+): a procedure to correct a deviated nasal septum (the cartilage and bony structure that separates the nostrils).
- Functional septorhinoplasty pathway (16+): a procedure to improve nasal breathing by reconstructing the nasal septum and lateral structures of the nose.
Supported and co-badged by the British Rhinological Society, ENT UK and the British Society of Facial Plastic Surgery (BSFPS), the resources outline a pathway from presentation and referral through to follow-up and cover best practice for documentation in clinic, the baseline benchmark for patients to be listed for surgery, and how long procedures should take.
Links to other GIRFT guidance, patient information and evidence are provided, plus a sample Patient Reported Outcome Measures (PROMs) form.
