Septoplasty, Anyone any experience?
Discussion
Finally had an appointment at the hopsital today to have a look at my gammy nose.
For the last 18 months or so I have been struggling to breath through it. King of like a hose thats been crushed and only a little water can get through and needs forced. It switches from side to side and can range form completely blocked like a cold to slightly restricted enough to annoy you that you have to focus on breathing rather than like normal people breath.
After many GP visits where I have been prescribed a variety of nasal sprays, steroids and and other mythical tablets which didnt help they referred me to the ENT department which I had the pleasant experience of having a telescope tube rammed up my nose, the consultant managed to hit a magic spot which made me look like I had just watched the lion king for the first time. As horrible as it was all i could think was that this wasnt the worst orifice for the tube to be inserted which was a relief.
Within seconds He could see there was an issue which In a way I was glad of as its took so long to finally get the answer which was extremely swollen Turbinates (Some king of muscles inside the nose) and Nasal spurs (some combination of bone and cartilage which is blocking the air way)
straight away the consultant prompted surgery as the only real viable option as I had tried all medications he would of advised of. I like most was happy to go along with this as surely they know best.
When she was filling out the consent form I noted the part of complications and it was a fair list. In years gone by I would of signed and thought nothing of it but after a broken finger which is still mishapen and arthritic I am now more inquisitive to things which may have a lasting effect.
The main ones were.
Nose shape alteration, Due to cutting away of the muscles inside of the nose and where the incision is to do the work, The nose can alter shape in size and she explained the tip can also become upturned. My nose is pretty big already and the idea of a big and mishapen beak is quite frightening.
The other was a hole in the septum which can form after surgery causing a whistle when breathing as air is pushed through a little hole in the nose.
Other side effects were damage to upper teeth nerves from the operation and a couple others which all were stated as operational issues which go away after time, Scarring, bleeding etc.
I know it may be a long shot but has anyone had any experience of similar operations, i understand Septoplasty is a generic operation to correct all septum issues, Deviated septums etc.
I dont know If i got a "worst case" consultant who wanted to let me know everything that may go wrong or its an operation where the greater good comes with some misgivings
For the last 18 months or so I have been struggling to breath through it. King of like a hose thats been crushed and only a little water can get through and needs forced. It switches from side to side and can range form completely blocked like a cold to slightly restricted enough to annoy you that you have to focus on breathing rather than like normal people breath.
After many GP visits where I have been prescribed a variety of nasal sprays, steroids and and other mythical tablets which didnt help they referred me to the ENT department which I had the pleasant experience of having a telescope tube rammed up my nose, the consultant managed to hit a magic spot which made me look like I had just watched the lion king for the first time. As horrible as it was all i could think was that this wasnt the worst orifice for the tube to be inserted which was a relief.
Within seconds He could see there was an issue which In a way I was glad of as its took so long to finally get the answer which was extremely swollen Turbinates (Some king of muscles inside the nose) and Nasal spurs (some combination of bone and cartilage which is blocking the air way)
straight away the consultant prompted surgery as the only real viable option as I had tried all medications he would of advised of. I like most was happy to go along with this as surely they know best.
When she was filling out the consent form I noted the part of complications and it was a fair list. In years gone by I would of signed and thought nothing of it but after a broken finger which is still mishapen and arthritic I am now more inquisitive to things which may have a lasting effect.
The main ones were.
Nose shape alteration, Due to cutting away of the muscles inside of the nose and where the incision is to do the work, The nose can alter shape in size and she explained the tip can also become upturned. My nose is pretty big already and the idea of a big and mishapen beak is quite frightening.
The other was a hole in the septum which can form after surgery causing a whistle when breathing as air is pushed through a little hole in the nose.
Other side effects were damage to upper teeth nerves from the operation and a couple others which all were stated as operational issues which go away after time, Scarring, bleeding etc.
I know it may be a long shot but has anyone had any experience of similar operations, i understand Septoplasty is a generic operation to correct all septum issues, Deviated septums etc.
I dont know If i got a "worst case" consultant who wanted to let me know everything that may go wrong or its an operation where the greater good comes with some misgivings
I had it a couple of years ago for a deviated septum and also had balloon sinusplasty and I believe they trimmed the turbinates. I did feel pretty crappy after the surgery and had a nose bleed that lasted 24 hours, but other than a blocked nose for a few days and some soreness no other issues.
Last september i has fess,septoplasty and turbinate reduction, I too had difficulty breathing through my nose and also had a contant musty smell and a reduced sense of smell. After the same medications as yourself the consultant recommended the surgery.
The surgery itself is painless but I had severe bleeding and had large inflatable tampons about 4" long pushed up each nostril and inflated for 24 hours and then got filled up with codine then oramorph. Not nice at all, as when the packs are inflated your ears pop instantly and eyes have pressure behind them and the packs feel like they are poking you in the brain. I went home and recovery was good, but a week later I had the mother of all nose bleeds at 01:00 in the morning and after trying for an hour to stop it, I had to go to A&E and was readmitted to a ward where I had to endure the packs again along with fluids and large amounts of antibiotics through a drip. I then spent a good while vomiting blood and had blood coming out of my tearducts.
When I got home I felt like utter s
t due to blood loss and took about 2 weeks to recover and be up and about properly. After all that, most of my symptoms are back albeit reduced and I now have a 1cm hole in my septum post anterior, the consultants are at a loss with the symptoms and are looking at fitting a septal button which is like a silicone blind gromit to stop the whistling. The hole whistles at night and also in meetings at work, I have to try to breathe through my mouth to stop any whistling.
Strangely, when i take the steriod sprays or drops now, it seems to bring on really bad anxiety and low moods along with brain fog, i have tried a few diffrent steroids and they have all done the same. Apparently I was in the 1% of ops that have complications but I belive the surgeon wasn't the best man for the job, he was a young guy with a very dimissive attitude that told me I would need the steriod sprays for life after the op not before.
Once your septum is damaged , the procedure to repair it has a very low success rate, And the docs are reluctant to try. They are more intrested in managing your symptoms than curing the problem.
My consultant told me it is a small operation with an uncomfortable 24 hours following, he laughed when I told him he needs to change his view on what uncomfortable means. All that said it is a routine procedure and maybe I was just unlucky or maybe naive to the outcome of surgery and afterwards when I had recovered I felt cured and better than I had felt in years, but slowly the symptoms have returned and trips to the consultant continue.
The surgery itself is painless but I had severe bleeding and had large inflatable tampons about 4" long pushed up each nostril and inflated for 24 hours and then got filled up with codine then oramorph. Not nice at all, as when the packs are inflated your ears pop instantly and eyes have pressure behind them and the packs feel like they are poking you in the brain. I went home and recovery was good, but a week later I had the mother of all nose bleeds at 01:00 in the morning and after trying for an hour to stop it, I had to go to A&E and was readmitted to a ward where I had to endure the packs again along with fluids and large amounts of antibiotics through a drip. I then spent a good while vomiting blood and had blood coming out of my tearducts.
When I got home I felt like utter s
t due to blood loss and took about 2 weeks to recover and be up and about properly. After all that, most of my symptoms are back albeit reduced and I now have a 1cm hole in my septum post anterior, the consultants are at a loss with the symptoms and are looking at fitting a septal button which is like a silicone blind gromit to stop the whistling. The hole whistles at night and also in meetings at work, I have to try to breathe through my mouth to stop any whistling. Strangely, when i take the steriod sprays or drops now, it seems to bring on really bad anxiety and low moods along with brain fog, i have tried a few diffrent steroids and they have all done the same. Apparently I was in the 1% of ops that have complications but I belive the surgeon wasn't the best man for the job, he was a young guy with a very dimissive attitude that told me I would need the steriod sprays for life after the op not before.
Once your septum is damaged , the procedure to repair it has a very low success rate, And the docs are reluctant to try. They are more intrested in managing your symptoms than curing the problem.
My consultant told me it is a small operation with an uncomfortable 24 hours following, he laughed when I told him he needs to change his view on what uncomfortable means. All that said it is a routine procedure and maybe I was just unlucky or maybe naive to the outcome of surgery and afterwards when I had recovered I felt cured and better than I had felt in years, but slowly the symptoms have returned and trips to the consultant continue.
I had a septoplasty/turbinate reduction about 2.5 years ago - very similar circumstances to yourself OP.
Was told I'd need about 2 weeks to recover after the surgery but in reality this was much more like 4-6 weeks. There wasn't too much pain to be honest, and the chunky amounts of codeine they put me on dealt with most of that. The bigger problems I experienced were a) a complete lack of energy, (even a five minute trudge to the nearby shop could wipe me out for hours) b) the fairly hiedous process of doing salt washes to clean out my sinuses lead to me vomiting up lots of mucus and general gunk and c) occasional visual disturbances, particularly blurry and reduced vision in my left eye.
On the whole I've been pretty glad I got it done - I've gone from having at least 6 seriously painful sinus infections a year to maybe a couple of minor ones since. Plus I even have something resembling a sense of smell again!
Was told I'd need about 2 weeks to recover after the surgery but in reality this was much more like 4-6 weeks. There wasn't too much pain to be honest, and the chunky amounts of codeine they put me on dealt with most of that. The bigger problems I experienced were a) a complete lack of energy, (even a five minute trudge to the nearby shop could wipe me out for hours) b) the fairly hiedous process of doing salt washes to clean out my sinuses lead to me vomiting up lots of mucus and general gunk and c) occasional visual disturbances, particularly blurry and reduced vision in my left eye.
On the whole I've been pretty glad I got it done - I've gone from having at least 6 seriously painful sinus infections a year to maybe a couple of minor ones since. Plus I even have something resembling a sense of smell again!
You bunch of woosies! I had this done in 2009 and it was a piece of cake. Nose was a bit tender for a week afterwards but that was all.
The nurse got pissed off with me because I kept turning the tap off on the IV antibiotics the next day as I didn't fancy them much.
Hasn't helped half as much as I'd hoped though.
The nurse got pissed off with me because I kept turning the tap off on the IV antibiotics the next day as I didn't fancy them much.
Hasn't helped half as much as I'd hoped though.
Driller said:
You bunch of woosies! I had this done in 2009 and it was a piece of cake...
The nurse got pissed off with me because I kept turning the tap off on the IV antibiotics the next day as I didn't fancy them much.
IV Antibiotics?!! Still in hospital the next day?!!The nurse got pissed off with me because I kept turning the tap off on the IV antibiotics the next day as I didn't fancy them much.
Pah. I had mine done at a drive-thru...didn't even come to a complete stop!
KaraK said:
I had a septoplasty/turbinate reduction about 2.5 years ago - very similar circumstances to yourself OP.
Was told I'd need about 2 weeks to recover after the surgery but in reality this was much more like 4-6 weeks. There wasn't too much pain to be honest, and the chunky amounts of codeine they put me on dealt with most of that.
On the whole I've been pretty glad I got it done.
Those bits resemble my experience of the exact same operation. I had the dissolvable packing afterwards which I guess is the norm now? I had a few bits that hadn't shifted after about 4-5 weeks so I ended up doing a brain-exploding nose blow to dislodge it and the remaining bit flew out. I can't explain the elation I felt after that.Was told I'd need about 2 weeks to recover after the surgery but in reality this was much more like 4-6 weeks. There wasn't too much pain to be honest, and the chunky amounts of codeine they put me on dealt with most of that.
On the whole I've been pretty glad I got it done.
I had co-codamol. The pain wasn't too bad and all it did was send me to sleep which was a blessing in disguise as the blocked nose made sleeping uncomfortable. However, co-codamol (codeine I think) is also a constipator which I didn't realise and wasn't told, but I found out big time after about two weeks. I don't want to go through that again with my stomach looking like I'd eaten a football. That said, once I got some laxatives, the elation was massive.
Mine is much better, but not perfect. I was told that the turbinates could grow back and I think one has. My breathing is much better than it was, but I have lost some sense of smell. I don't miss it though.
HTH
pushthebutton said:
Driller said:
You bunch of woosies! I had this done in 2009 and it was a piece of cake...
The nurse got pissed off with me because I kept turning the tap off on the IV antibiotics the next day as I didn't fancy them much.
IV Antibiotics?!! Still in hospital the next day?!!The nurse got pissed off with me because I kept turning the tap off on the IV antibiotics the next day as I didn't fancy them much.
Pah. I had mine done at a drive-thru...didn't even come to a complete stop!
I didn't even slow down. In fact, I sped up!!!
Hmmm seems to be confirming my reading elsewhere, That surgery may not be a magic cure and there can be some sides.
I think Im going to have to go through with it, Currently at least all through out the day one side of my nose is 50% blocked, Sometimes going to fully blocked.
It switches from side to side several times a day as one side of turbinates swell and recede and then the other side.
Ive read after the surgery can be incredibly unpleasant but I dont think I can carry on with my nose, It seems to affect everything like sleep, working out and even office work and ive just got lax to dealing with it.
I think Im going to have to go through with it, Currently at least all through out the day one side of my nose is 50% blocked, Sometimes going to fully blocked.
It switches from side to side several times a day as one side of turbinates swell and recede and then the other side.
Ive read after the surgery can be incredibly unpleasant but I dont think I can carry on with my nose, It seems to affect everything like sleep, working out and even office work and ive just got lax to dealing with it.
The Moose said:
pushthebutton said:
Driller said:
You bunch of woosies! I had this done in 2009 and it was a piece of cake...
The nurse got pissed off with me because I kept turning the tap off on the IV antibiotics the next day as I didn't fancy them much.
IV Antibiotics?!! Still in hospital the next day?!!The nurse got pissed off with me because I kept turning the tap off on the IV antibiotics the next day as I didn't fancy them much.
Pah. I had mine done at a drive-thru...didn't even come to a complete stop!
I didn't even slow down. In fact, I sped up!!!
paulwoof said:
Currently at least all through out the day one side of my nose is 50% blocked, Sometimes going to fully blocked.
It switches from side to side several times a day....
My understanding from having done a bit of Yoga and Meditation is that this is quite normal, but most people don't ever notice it.It switches from side to side several times a day....
Without wanting to get too 'woo woo', you could try a few of the alternate nostril pranayama techniques. They only take a few minutes complete and for me it makes a massive difference to my mood and breathing.
I normally only have to do it about half a dozen times, then I need to blow my nose and suddenly discover that my nostrils feel free and balanced and there is a better clarity in my head.
Google one of the many techniques, read past all the 'woo woo' brain benefits and just give it a go - let me know how you get on.
HTH
Driller said:
The Moose said:
pushthebutton said:
Driller said:
You bunch of woosies! I had this done in 2009 and it was a piece of cake...
The nurse got pissed off with me because I kept turning the tap off on the IV antibiotics the next day as I didn't fancy them much.
IV Antibiotics?!! Still in hospital the next day?!!The nurse got pissed off with me because I kept turning the tap off on the IV antibiotics the next day as I didn't fancy them much.
Pah. I had mine done at a drive-thru...didn't even come to a complete stop!
I didn't even slow down. In fact, I sped up!!!
Ya woose! I did mine myself with a 8mm drill bit. Used the Milwaukee because it hides the blood better than the Makita. Tested my work by doing a couple of lines of blow off a hooker's norks. The only drama was when a truck changed lanes in front of me and I had to swerve! Nearly dropped the cordless drill in my bowl of cornflakes!
MickTravis665321 said:
Did you get the surgery in the end?
Looking at getting this myself as recommended by the Dr.
Deviated septum, swollen turbinates. Left nostril essentially does not work at all.
Anyone else got any horror stories on this?
Funny enough i clicked on the thread out of interest and didnt realise till scrolling to the bottom that it was me who started it. Looking at getting this myself as recommended by the Dr.
Deviated septum, swollen turbinates. Left nostril essentially does not work at all.
Anyone else got any horror stories on this?
Yeah I went ahead with the surgery sometime after the post in late 2016/early 2017. a mix of both good and bad.
Good:
My nose is definitely better without question but not perfect. If 100% is a perfect nose, I went from about 25% to 75/80% and day to day difference is massively better. Sleep improved, tiredness/headaches gone, the constant feeling of blocked nose gone.
bad:
i didnt have the best NHS experience. From surgeon to follow ups and ENT consultants with lots of miscommunication. Unrelated details really but just generally made me a little less condident in the work done. Main one was I was supposed to be given a steroid spray to use after the surgery but had never been prescribed, this came at a follow up with an ENT consultant who seemed to go very quiet on that part after realising the mistake.
I still have one side that is not as good as the other but its at least consistently the left side now. If i place a finger under my left nostril and exhale i feel nothing, then repeat on the right and i can. If i close my right nostril the air will exhale from the left. Presumably its following the path of least resistance. Not ideal but compared to before where i got nothing its still preferable.
Other thing is a sort of thick white mucusy substance that i need to blow out a few times a day. No idea what this is, its not too bad and not like I have to blow my nose every 2 minutes but feels like it only takes the tinest bit of nose gunk to restrict air further so i am always trying to blow it to clear it. Again not ideal but will still take that to what it was before.
I have been back to ENT a couple times with these issues unfortunately crossing paths with the same deeply unpleasant ENT consultant who was very dismissive. Despite the horrible ENT consultant there does seem a general reluctance to operate more than once unless it is really neccessary which ive found from my own reading so I have sort of succumbed to living with what I have now which is at least a huge improvement than before if at least not optimal.
I think you need to weigh up how bad it is now and if its worth to go ahead. In my case there was no way i could continue with the way it was so felt like i had nothing to lose.
The post surgery period is as horrible as i feared it would be in my original post. Imagine 2 weeks where someones stuck a strong clothes peg on your nose and left it there. During this time you are not allowed to sneeze at all incase it blows stitches etc. but after 2 weeks you can finally blow and release 2 weeks worth of dried blood/snot/all sorts. Feels like you are about to give birth through your nose and then suddenly a huge gust of cold fresh air goes in. I would describe it accurately as a nose orgasm. Its been a core memory that has stayed with me for years.
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