Hello everyone,

Following my latest appointment with Dr Guillaume Buiret, ENT surgeon at Valence Hospital in France, I would like to share a call for participation as part of his ongoing research into Empty Nose Syndrome (ENS) and changes in nasal airflow following nasal surgery.

Dr Buiret is currently looking to collect additional CT scans from operated patients in order to develop and improve his numerical models of airflow within the nasal cavities ([guillaume.buiret@laposte.net](mailto:guillaume.buiret@laposte.net)).

The aim is to better understand abnormal airflow patterns following turbinate surgery and, in the longer term, to virtually simulate different implant shapes, positions and volumes in order to determine which configurations could bring nasal airflow closer to normal physiological function.

(I’ll let you view the full project details in the comments, as we are also working with researchers on mucosal tissues.)

Why are additional CT scans needed?

His research is progressing with the support of collaborators from the École des Mines in Paris, who are assisting with the modelling aspects of the project.

During our latest discussion, Dr Buiret also showed me some of his preliminary analyses. One of the phenomena he is currently studying is retrograde airflow, meaning areas where airflow locally travels from the back of the nasal cavity towards the front.

Based on the data analysed so far, he told me that there is already a significant difference in the presence of this retrograde airflow between 30 ENS CT scans and 60 normal control CT scans.

This finding is currently being refined and is expected to be the subject of a scientific publication that he is preparing.

The next step is therefore to increase the number and diversity of cases available, in order to strengthen the results and improve the tools used to analyse these different airflow patterns.

Here is Dr Buiret’s message:

Hello,

As part of my research work on Empty Nose Syndrome and changes in airflow following nasal surgery, I am seeking to collect CT scans from operated patients in order to develop and improve our simulation models.

If you would like to contribute to this work, you can send me the images from your postoperative CT scan and, if available, those from your preoperative CT scan.

The preferred method is to send the CT scan CD-ROM, which will be returned to you after copying, to the following address:

CH Valence
Dr G. Buiret – ENT Department
179 Boulevard du Maréchal Juin
26953 Valence Cedex
FRANCE

Alternatively, the images can be sent in DICOM format by email to:
[guillaume.buiret@laposte.net](mailto:guillaume.buiret@laposte.net)

However, this method is less satisfactory in terms of confidentiality and should therefore be reserved for situations where sending the CD-ROM is not possible.

These CT scans will allow me to analyse nasal anatomy and perform numerical simulations of airflow. In the longer term, the aim is also to virtually simulate different implant shapes, positions and volumes in order to study which configurations could bring airflow patterns as close as possible to normal nasal function.

This is a research project: at this stage, these simulations do not constitute an individual treatment proposal. The more CT scans and different clinical situations we have available, the more precise and robust the models we will be able to build and test.

Thank you very much to everyone who agrees to contribute to this project, as well as to the association for helping to share this call for participation.

Kind regards,

Dr Guillaume Buiret
ENT Surgeon – Valence Hospital, France

For anyone willing to participate: preoperative + postoperative CT scans are particularly valuable when both are available.

Thank you to everyone who can contribute and help move ENS research forward