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CompletedNCT05099263SWELLUpdated Aug 28, 2025Results posted

The Vivaer Procedure for Treatment of the Septal Swell Bodies (SWELL)

An interventional study of Vivaer Arc Stylus in Nasal Obstruction, sponsored by Aerin Medical. Completed at 9 sites in United States. Open to participants aged 22 Years to 85 Years, including healthy volunteers. Per ClinicalTrials.gov, last updated 2025-08-28.

Sponsored by Aerin Medical · Not applicable, Interventional, and Treatment

Phase
Not applicable
Study type
Interventional
Enrollment
70
Allocation
Not applicable
Ages
22 Years to 85 Years
Sex
All
01

Study summary

Post-market study to access the clinical use of the Vivaer Arc Stylus to treat Septal Swell Bodies (SSB).

Read the detailed description

Prospective, Open-Label, Multicenter, Single Arm Study of the Aerin Medical Vivaer ARC Stylus to treat Septal Swell Bodies (SSB) to improve symptoms in adults diagnosed with nasal obstruction attributed to SSB.

02

Conditions studied

  • Nasal Obstruction

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03

Who can participate

Ages eligible
22 Years to 85 Years
Sexes eligible
All
Accepts healthy volunteers
Yes

Inclusion criteria

  1. Age 22 to 85 years (inclusively).
  2. Seeking treatment for nasal obstruction and willing to undergo an office-based procedure.
  3. Baseline NOSE score ≥ 55.
  4. Presence of SSB hypertrophy limiting visualization of the middle turbinate (MT) by more than 50%.
  5. Reduction in size of the SSB after application of topical decongestant on a cotton plug directly to the SSB region.
  6. Improvement in the symptoms of nasal obstruction after SSB decongestion suggesting that the SSB may play a role in nasal obstruction.
  7. Willing and able to withhold anticoagulant medications during the perioperative period (3-day window on either side).
  8. Willing and able to provide informed consent.
  9. Willing and able to comply with the participant-specific requirements outlined in the study protocol.

Exclusion criteria

Exclusion Criteria:

  1. Rhinoplasty, septoplasty, inferior turbinate (IT) reduction, or other surgical nasal procedures within the preceding 6 months.
  2. Severe case of any of the following: septal deviation, turbinate hypertrophy, polyps, or ptotic nose tip believed to be the primary contributor to the participant's nasal obstruction symptoms and warranting surgical intervention.
  3. Any adjunctive surgical nasal procedure planned on the same day or within 3 months after the Vivaer procedure.
  4. Known or suspected allergies or contraindications for any general or local anesthetic agents.
  5. Known or suspected to be pregnant or is lactating.
  6. Participating in another clinical research study.
  7. Other medical conditions which in the opinion of the investigator would predispose the participant to poor wound healing or increased surgical risk, or poor compliance with the requirements of the study.
  8. Known or suspected regular use of oxymetazoline (Afrin) nasal decongestant or oral steroids.
  9. For sites participating in the CT substudy only: Active sinus condition (eg, significant sinus diseases, infection or polyp formation) identified by CT.
04

Study design

Phase
Not applicable
Primary purpose
Treatment
Allocation
Not applicable
Intervention model
Single group
Masking
None (open label)
Enrollment
70 participants (actual)

Study arms

  • Experimental
    Vivaer Procedure

    The Vivaer procedure will be performed in the study clinic using the Vivaer ARC Stylus and Aerin Console. The Vivaer ARC Stylus is a disposable handheld device capable of delivering bipolar radiofrequency energy to tissue when connected to the Aerin Console radiofrequency generating device. Participants will undergo bilateral treatment of the nasal airway in a single study procedure session. Each side of the nose will be treated as follows: • Two (2) to six (6) nonoverlapping applications of RF energy are performed at the SSB per nostril. The default treatment settings will be used for the study: temperature 60 C, power 4 watts, treatment time 18 seconds, and cooling time 12 seconds. No repeat ("touch up") procedures will be permitted after the initial procedure through the end of the study (36 months).

    Device: Vivaer Arc Stylus

Interventions

  • DeviceVivaer Arc Stylus

    The Vivaer procedure will be performed in the study clinic using the Vivaer ARC Stylus and Aerin Console. The Vivaer ARC Stylus is a disposable handheld device capable of delivering bipolar radiofrequency energy to tissue when connected to the Aerin Console radiofrequency generating device. Participants in this study will undergo bilateral treatment of the nasal airway in a single study session.

05

What researchers measure

Primary outcomes

  1. Nasal Obstruction Symptom Evaluation (NOSE) Scale Mean Change

    The primary endpoint is improvement in self-reported Nasal Obstruction Symptom Evaluation (NOSE) Scale score from baseline recorded at the screening evaluation to 13 weeks after the procedure. The NOSE Scale is a validated disease-specific health status instrument used by clinicians to measure the outcome of participants treated for nasal obstruction.43 The NOSE Scale consists of 5 items, each scored using a 5-point Likert scale to make a total score range of 0 through 100, where higher scores indicate worse obstruction. Severity of symptoms can be classified as mild (range, 5-25), moderate (range, 30-50), severe (range, 55-75), or extreme (range, 80-100) nasal obstruction, based on responses to the NOSE Scale survey.

    Time frame: 3 months (13 weeks) visit following screening

Secondary outcomes

  1. Responder Percent

    Responder percent: A responder is defined as at least 1 NOSE Scale class improvement or an improvement (decrease) in NOSE Scale score of 20% or more from baseline to 13 weeks after the procedure (eg, going from a score in the severe range (55-75) at preprocedure to a score in the moderate range (30-50) at the 3-month evaluation), or an improvement (decrease) in NOSE Scale score of 20% or more from screening at the 3-month evaluation.

    Time frame: 3 months (13 weeks) visit following baseline

  2. Number of Participants With Device Related Adverse Events

    Frequency of device-related and procedure-related serious adverse events, including frequency of septal perforation during the procedure, through the 3-month evaluation.

    Time frame: At or following the study procedure up to 3 months.

06

Results

Posted Aug 21, 2024

Participant flow

Participants were recruited based on physician referral at 9 academic medical centers and clinics between August 25, 2021 and April 28, 2022. The First Participant enrolled on September 14, 2021 and the last participant enrolled on April 28, 2022.

Participant flow — Overall Study
MilestoneVivaer Procedure
Started70
3-month68
6-month65
12-month62
Completed0
Not completed70

Outcome measures

PrimaryNasal Obstruction Symptom Evaluation (NOSE) Scale Mean Change

The primary endpoint is improvement in self-reported Nasal Obstruction Symptom Evaluation (NOSE) Scale score from baseline recorded at the screening evaluation to 13 weeks after the procedure. The NOSE Scale is a validated disease-specific health status instrument used by clinicians to measure the outcome of participants treated for nasal obstruction.43 The NOSE Scale consists of 5 items, each scored using a 5-point Likert scale to make a total score range of 0 through 100, where higher scores indicate worse obstruction. Severity of symptoms can be classified as mild (range, 5-25), moderate (range, 30-50), severe (range, 55-75), or extreme (range, 80-100) nasal obstruction, based on responses to the NOSE Scale survey.

Time frame:
3 months (13 weeks) visit following screening
Reported as:
Mean · score on a scale
Nasal Obstruction Symptom Evaluation (NOSE) Scale Mean Change
score on a scaleVivaer Procedure
Nasal Obstruction Symptom Evaluation (NOSE) Scale Mean Change-45.3 ± 21.4
SecondaryResponder Percent

Responder percent: A responder is defined as at least 1 NOSE Scale class improvement or an improvement (decrease) in NOSE Scale score of 20% or more from baseline to 13 weeks after the procedure (eg, going from a score in the severe range (55-75) at preprocedure to a score in the moderate range (30-50) at the 3-month evaluation), or an improvement (decrease) in NOSE Scale score of 20% or more from screening at the 3-month evaluation.

Time frame:
3 months (13 weeks) visit following baseline
Reported as:
Number · percentage of responders
Responder Percent
percentage of respondersVivaer Procedure
Responder Percent95.7
SecondaryNumber of Participants With Device Related Adverse Events

Frequency of device-related and procedure-related serious adverse events, including frequency of septal perforation during the procedure, through the 3-month evaluation.

Time frame:
At or following the study procedure up to 3 months.
Reported as:
Count of participants · Participants
Number of Participants With Device Related Adverse Events
ParticipantsVivaer Procedure
Visual acuity change (transient)1
Nasal scarring at 3M2
Nasal bleeding at 1M1
Nasal Discharge2
Headache1
Nasal Congestion/Obstruction1
Vasovagal reaction1
No Device or Procedure related Issues60

Adverse events

Collected over 2 years and 7.5 months. Non-serious events are listed at a 0% frequency threshold.

Adverse event summary by group
GroupDeathsSeriousOther
Vivaer Procedure0/69 (0%)0/69 (0%)9/69 (13%)
Most frequent other events
Most frequent other events
EventVivaer Procedure
Nasal Scarring at 3MSkin and subcutaneous tissue disorders2/69
Nasal DischargeSkin and subcutaneous tissue disorders2/69
Visual Acuity Change (Transient)Eye disorders1/69
Nasal Bleeding at 1MBlood and lymphatic system disorders1/69
HeadacheNervous system disorders1/69
Nasal Congestion/ObstructionRespiratory, thoracic and mediastinal disorders1/69
Vasovagal ReactionCardiac disorders1/69

Baseline characteristics

Age, Categorical
Age, Categorical(Participants)Single Arm - Vivaer Treatment
<=18 years0
Between 18 and 65 years57
>=65 years13
Sex: Female, Male
Sex: Female, Male(Participants)Single Arm - Vivaer Treatment
Female34
Male36
Ethnicity (NIH/OMB)
Ethnicity (NIH/OMB)(Participants)Single Arm - Vivaer Treatment
Hispanic or Latino10
Not Hispanic or Latino60
Unknown or Not Reported0
Region of Enrollment
Region of Enrollment(participants)Single Arm - Vivaer Treatment
United States70
07

Study locations

9 sites
  • Colorado Otolaryngology Associates LLC
    Colorado Springs, Colorado 80923, United States
  • Chicago Nasal and Sinus Center
    Chicago, Illinois 60602, United States
  • Rush University
    Chicago, Illinois 60612, United States
  • Mount Sinai
    New York, New York 10009, United States
  • Madison ENT
    New York, New York 10016, United States
  • University of Rochester
    Rochester, New York 14627, United States
  • University of Cincinnati College of Medicine
    Cincinnati, Ohio 45267, United States
  • Vanderbilt Asthma, Sinus & Allergy Program
    Nashville, Tennessee 37203, United States
  • Alamo ENT Associates
    San Antonio, Texas 78258, United States
08

References and documents

Publications

  • Pritikin J, Silvers S, Rosenbloom J, Davis B, Signore AD, Sedaghat AR, Tajudeen BA, Schmale I, Lyons J, Corey J, Chandra R. Temperature-controlled radiofrequency device treatment of septal swell bodies for nasal airway obstruction: An open-label, single arm multicenter study. Int Forum Allergy Rhinol. 2023 Oct;13(10):1915-1925. doi: 10.1002/alr.23156. Epub 2023 Mar 27. PubMed 36908245 ↗
  • Pritikin J, Silvers S, Rosenbloom J, Davis B, Del Signore A, Sedaghat AR, Tajudeen BA, Schmale I, Chandra RK. Twenty-Four-Month Outcomes Following Temperature-Controlled Radiofrequency Treatment for Septal Swell Body Hypertrophy: An Open-Label, Single-Arm Multicenter Study. Int Forum Allergy Rhinol. 2025 Jun;15(6):651-654. doi: 10.1002/alr.23541. Epub 2025 Feb 12. No abstract available. PubMed 39936254 ↗

Study documents

  • Protocol and statistical analysis plan · Aug 31, 2021

Documents are hosted by the registry — open the source record to download them.

Individual participant data

Plan to share: No — No data collected will be shared with other researchers participating in the study.

09

Registry details

Key details

Study ID
NCT05099263
Lead sponsor
Aerin Medical
Responsible party
Sponsor
First posted
Oct 29, 2021
Start date
Sep 14, 2021
Primary completion
Apr 27, 2022
Completion
Oct 16, 2024
Results posted
Aug 21, 2024
Last update
Aug 28, 2025

Study contacts

Anais Laborde
study director · Aerin Medical

Oversight

Data monitoring committee
No
FDA-regulated drug
No
FDA-regulated device
Yes
View the source record on ClinicalTrials.gov ↗

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