Study of Polyester Implants for the Treatment of External Nasal Valve Collapse (NVC)

The effects of PET implants on external NVC and cosmetic contour deformity will be evaluated in an open-label, prospective study. Subjects for this clinical study will be recruited and screened from clinic office visits and patient records at each principal investigator's site as well as through an investigational review board (IRB)-approved general advertisement. Those patients that continue to qualify after either screening process will be seen and evaluated by one of the clinical investigators prior to enrollment in the study. Subjects must meet criteria for the diagnosis of external nasal valve collapse as a stand alone abnormality (i.e., symptoms of obstruction cannot be caused primarily by other factors). Other contributing factors to the nasal obstruction must be ruled out and/or treated, without relief before enrollment in this study. No other surgeries or procedures will be allowed during the study that could influence the evaluation of implants on the treatment of nasal valve collapse and cosmetic contour deformity. All subjects will be required to sign an IRB approved informed consent prior to entry into the study. After meeting inclusion/exclusion criteria and completing the pre-implant evaluations, subjects will be scheduled for treatment with the polyethylene terephthalate implants. The implant procedure will be performed by facial plastic physicians. All investigative sites will be required to undergo training to standardize the methodology of implant technique and administration of evaluation techniques (questionnaires, scales, photographic assessments, etc.). Target sample size for the study will be 72 subjects. Follow up evaluations for all outcome measures will occur at 1, 6, and 12 weeks after implantation. Long-term follow-up for adverse events will be conducted at 11 months or later after implantation.