Ask MetaFilter questions tagged with deviatedseptum

No song titles about noses, septums or breathing, strangely enough.

Anonymous — Thu, 13 Aug 2009 18:45:18 -0800

Deviated septum fixed - but 'new nose' feels damn weird. Advice appreciated. Ok, finally bit the bullet and got the deviated septum surgery done last Tuesday. Yay - I can breathe better already, and surgery went well. Highly recommended, would do business with surgeon again, A++. Want to get some advise on the pain afterward though. Apologies if I seem neurotic - I've never had surgery before, so I probably seem a bit of a nutter.

The first 4 days or so, I was pretty out of it (they did it under a general anesthetic) with the Vicodin (which is evil stuff), and an antibiotic, which I took a full course of. I had no energy and moderate throbbing pain - more like discomfort (kind of a sinusy build-up, like I had before the surgery). Ate soft foods. They took the packing out 2 days later (which helped the sinus buildup) and I'm slowly back to normal (I'd say probably about 90%) in terms of energy, and trying not to do too much physical exertion. I think they mentioned that they're supposed to take the stitches out in about a month - or some sort of follow up appointment.

The problem is I want to make sure I'm not getting an infection. This might be a little Too Much Information, so you have been warned. My nose feels sore and really tender to the touch, especially around my nostils at the opennings, but the pain comes and goes. Very odd beast. First week was definite pain and discomfort of a recent suggery but now it's like a milder, different pain that feels like I've smacked myself in the nose (which I seem to be doing, of course). I didn't know that there would be stitches right at the bottom of inside my nose near the opennings - I can literally feel them, and the scabs around the stiches seem to be kind of...large. They're not visible unless you're looking up my nose (trust me, I'm not going to look - just took a quick glance). I had a lot of blood clots, but no big bleeding problems - they were all dry, thank god. But my nostrils are tender enough that blowing my nose now hurts because of these scabs (I'm trying to avoid it) and scrunching up my nose (the face that kids make when they see food they don't like - you know, your lips going up to your nostrils hurts) is painful (trying not to make that face or eat food I don't like so I make that face). I know, I should call my doctor, but I don't want to be seen as One of Those Patients - you know, obsessing about recent surgery. I had called for a refill on the Vicodin because of the pain (which they refilled no problem) but I don't want to be too needy here. I also seem to instinctually reach for my nose, circling it with my fingers, but I'm really trying not to touch it, although that's really hard.

Questions:

- Is this normal? How long until the 'nose detached from face' feeling goes away (i.e. the sensitivity along the area around my nose like the Scarecrow in Wizard of Oz - http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_O9AmLa2VdP4/R72vCRMT08I/AAAAAAAAAbw/JV0slFvNjb8/s320/scarecrow.gif)? Is that a sign of infection, or just general nose tenderness in the second week is normal, and that pain in the first week goes away and is replaced with 'tenderness' pain? For what it's worth, any runniness or nose blowing shows clear mucus or not green at least - so no infection, right? This may be that since I'm 35, I've literally spent 34.5 years breathing with a deviated septum - which was bad enough that the doctor joke, "have you found the driver who did this to your in two places"). I don't know if what I'm feeling is just a normal, full/non blocked set of nostrils - and that feels bizarre, and has me thinking about how I breath more than usual.

- Is there anything I can put in my nose, like vaseline (Ambusal for the nose?) that can help with the sensitivity? I almost feel like I want to wash my nose out or use Nasonex or something, but I've tried saline (as the doctor suggested) and the salt in the saline really burnt. If I used the saline bottle and warm water, would that work? If I sleep with an icepack on, it feels much better... any ideas on getting that feeling without taping a few inside my nose? Do you just leave the scabs by themselves - do they dry up or at least soften up? Do I have to wait for a month until the stiches come out for the weird feelings to go away?

Advise from those who've had the septoplasty and turbine trimming, or those in the medical profession would be much appreciated. Thank you!

How long for a deviated septum to heal?

jwfree — Mon, 04 May 2009 06:45:56 -0800

How long before I should be concerned about the results of my septoplasty? Exactly four weeks ago I had a septoplasty as well as a reduction in turbinate size done. After reading around on the net a bit it seems like everyone has a different time-frame for healing. I'll start off with why I had the surgery done...

Ever since I could remember I could only breathe out of one nostril at a time. I also snored and it just wasn't possible for me to breathe out of both nostrils. I went to an ENT a couple months back and he called it bi-lateral congestion which seemed to hit the nail on the head.

During the past four weeks I have seen a lot of progress. My girlfriend mentions that I am not snoring anymore and my breathing is improved a bit. I am now able to breathe out of both nostrils probably 75 percent of the time while sitting/standing up but when I lay down on my stomach or either side it goes back to bilateral. It's almost like there is something in there that gravity is effecting and it's moving over and blocking a nasal passage when I'm not sitting up-right. There has also been this strange smell in my nose every since that I just call peaches because it's like the constant smell of a peach fruit cup in my nose! Maybe that's just the healing and scabs on the inside.

The only reason I am concerned is because I am not blowing out anymore blood or anything so it seems like it's almost done healing. When I went in a couple weeks after the surgery my doc said all looked well and he wasn't concerned.

I'm interested in any comments/suggestions/advice that you may have. A peach smell isn't the worst side-effect but still having congestion definitely is.

How long before travel after major surgery?

Anonymous — Mon, 23 Mar 2009 08:11:27 -0800

How soon to travel after major surgery? I am having a couple procedures done. I am having a tonsillectomy as well as a rhinoplasty the same day. A little less than two weeks later from my surgery date I'm supposed to be flying out of the country on a very long (15 hour) plane ride.

Is this flight something that I should put off? If so, why? My concern is I don't want to put thousands of dollars worth of surgery at risk, especially if I will still be feeling the effects of either of them and not back to my regular self.

What will it be like after nasal surgery?

Kickstart70 — Fri, 27 Oct 2006 19:46:24 -0800

I'm booked for surgery for a deviated septum on November 27th. My wife has heard 'horror stories' and now my choice is to cancel the surgery and live the rest of my life continuing not to be able to breath through my nose properly, or have the surgery and *allegedly* needing my wife to 'take care of me' for a week and *allegedly* not being allowed to let our baby near my face for more than a month. I'd like to be able to breath properly and exercise without only mouth-breathing. I'd also like to be able to be up on my feet and working almost immediately and hold my daughter without too much concern.

Anyone else who has had nose surgery, can you either quell my wife's fears or give substance to them, so that I can decide either way? Also, if you had a breathing-enabling surgery, how much of a life difference did it make?

Recovery from Septoplasty?

catfood — Thu, 21 Sep 2006 11:41:45 -0800

My fiance is having septoplasty to correct his deviated septum on Monday. What can we expect in terms of how he'll feel and what he'll be able to do after the procedure? He'll be under general anesthesia and the surgery is supposed to take 90 minutes. I know he's supposed to flush his sinuses with a saline mixture and will have splints in his nose.

Since he's coming home the same day, I want to make sure that I have anything he might need on hand before Monday. My general questions are:

- How groggy / out of it is he going to be after he gets home?
- How long before he'll be feeling back to normal?
- Is it going to be uncomfortable for him to eat the first week since his face will be messed up?
- What sorts of foods should I have on hand for him?
- Would ice packs help him with the healing process?
- Is he going to ooze nose-goo and blood all over anything?

I know this is a fairly common surgery, but he's never had any sort of procedure done before, and I haven't since I was an infant, so neither of us know what to expect. Any advice or stories on your experiences would be appreciated. Thanks!

Is it worth having surgery for my deviated septum?

internal — Thu, 26 Aug 2004 11:50:48 -0800

Surgery for a Deviated Septum? Is it worth it? What are your experiences? I have a severely deviated septum. MY ENT doc is confident he can repair it (mostly). He said there would be no packing, just swelling for 2 weeks after. Is the pain worth it? I have heard it from some people that it is a waste of time.