Deviated Septum Surgery
 

Has anyone here had this surgery? If so, was it rough to recover from?

It really depends on the person, the amount of "correction" and the surgeon. I had mine done with adenoid removal and sinus surgery and I was driving the next day. The previous adenoid and tonsil surgery I was up that evening, and the sinus surgery after the first one I was up and around at the mall in a couple hours.

If there is going to be a prescription of rinsing with saline, buy or get the kit from the doctor before hand and practice. It can be a bit awkward to try when there's packing up in there. In my case the packing was so crammed in there the pressure gave me a headache and when it came out it felt so good. it was also really disgusting. I highly prefer the Ayr brand to the Neil med, both for bottle shape and the top closing on the Ayr brand. i have more than one so i can clean them up between rinses.

BTW those saline sinus kits are great for anyone with allergies, and safe for pregnant women since it is just salt water. Anytime i work in the dirt or there's a forest fire or a wind storm, the stuff coming out is amazing and grossitating.

To be perfectly honest, everyone I know personally who said they had a deviated septum surgery really had a nose job.

Carnation - my daughter had this surgery about 2 years ago - the result of having her nose broken more than once through years of club gymnastics apparently (we had no idea at the time). I would strongly concur with everything Vandalsquirrel suggested.

As to pain and recovery time - I'm sure it differs. Again, thanks to years of club gymnastics and several injuries, I think mine has a pretty high pain tolerance, and I have to tell you - she was in A LOT of pain the first 24 hours. After that it wasn't bad, and she was back up and around in...I want to say 2 days at the most. She had to take it easy for a week or two I think (no running, jumping etc). Sorry, I'm being pretty vague, so not sure how much help this is.

LOL! They'd better not touch the outside of my nose, that's not where the problem is! But you remember the local relative who's a perp? Hers was a nose job.

I keep hearing stories of terrible recoveries, though. I know one gentle woman who inadvertently punched the nurse who removed her packing because it was so painful. :(

I heard that after my surgery, but in my case the break was bad enough it caused a lot of infections not to drain when I had the adenoids grow back and my sinuses so tiny.

My nose was shaped the same, but it was no longer crooked. I didn't even notice it was crooked until I looked at a couple photos. I broke it playing sports and had no idea there was a problem. My nostrils seem a bit less symmetrical but no one but me and the doctor ever looks up my nose.

I did get a plastic piece put in, and sometimes I can feel it move, kind of freaky. the worst part of the surgery was the prep and aftercare, endoscopes up the nose are the worst, I had to close my eyes.

Me too, but I believe them that they would've needed the surgery anyway. I always end up with complications from surgery so I'll never get a rhinoplasty by itself but if I needed to fix a deviated septum anyway I'd get my nose done at the same time, too.

PS-I've had three friends have experiences like VandalSquirrel described, but I had one that came down with some infection because of the surgery and got pretty sick. (My friend had dry socket three times during her wisdom teeth surgery and got her jaw fixed from TMJ and THAT ended up needing to be re-done...so she might be the exception...surgery just isn't her thing.)

I had a deviated septum surgery. OMG it seriously was the best surgery I've had. LOL. I say this because my septum was so crooked and I had an overabundance of sinuses (which they removed) so breathing at night (when trying to sleep) was incredibly difficult.

Mine was a completely outpatient procedure. Afterwords they essentially stuck two "tampons" up my nose, to help with the blood clotting. I did spit up blood for the first 24 hours of the surgery. My face (especially my cheeks) became raw. I had to have a guaze pad covering my nose and the tape went across my cheeks. The first couple of nights it was uncomfortable to sleep. My parents made a "bed" up for me on the coach, so I could be more propped up. The "tampons" in my nose stayed in for like 3-4 days. Boy did it feel good when those things came out!

I had the surgery back in 98 and haven't had to have it again. I met a woman who had to have the surgery (removing of the sinuses) every two years! I can now breathe at night without having to use breathe right strips daily or being propped up. The only times I get so congested at night that it makes it difficult to breathe (and therefore sleep) is when I'm sick. Otherwise, it truly was the best surgery I've ever had. LOL.

I had my deviated septum/adenoid/sinus in 2006 and just sinus in 2007, and dissolving packing is what they use now, and is much better than tampons up the nose. Once in awhile it doesn't dissolve, usually because the patient doesn't rinse with saline to irrigate the area. Staying hydrated and rinsing with saline (if prescribed) takes care of dried blood, packing, crusty unidentified stuff, and the packing will come out over a few days. Worst case scenario at the follow up appointment, maybe a week later, the doctor may have to pull a little out. The stuff trickling down my throat was the worst, and sometimes one's breath gets funky, so rinse and brush and drink plenty of fluids.

If I remember right, it only took 1 hour and an easy recovery. I was typing on the laptop that afternoon.

I wore a splint for one week and used saline for about one month.

Wow - I have horrible sinuses! I wonder if the surgery would work for me? I'd freak if they changed my nose, but oh, would I love to breathe easily!

Make an appointment with an ENT (ear nose throat doctor) and get evaluated. If you have a lot of sinus infections and they think it is worth getting a CT scan, as well as an endoscope (YUCK) you may have a nice outpatient surgery. My issue resided with the adenoids being infected, and growing back, paired with the deviated septum and some small sinus issues. It helped me immensely and the allergies are now the next hurdle.

I broke my nose 4 times and finally had it corrected about 2 years ago. They corrected the septum and performed "Turbine modification." Pretty much everything the others have said is correct, except i had no packing at all. i had to wear a strap over my face holding a piece of gauze in place.

In my own experience, for the first couple of weeks, I couldn't bend over without my nose running like a faucet. I had to go back for follow ups at like 4 and 6 weeks to have the sutures/stitches removed. That, by far, was the worst. They sprayed a numbing substance up each nostril and pulled them out. The drip down the back of my throat was absolutely disgusting.

LOL - I have endoscopies every 2 years for another condition. Sounds like a plan.

My ex-husband had horrible sinus issues and they found a bunch of polyps in his nasal cavity that had to be removed. He's much better now. Not quite a deviated septum, but another possible reason for sinus issues.

Before the surgery, I had 3-4 knock-down bacterial sinus infections each year. Now, I get about 1 sinus infection each year and it's typically viral. It's a huge improvement.

Also, the septoplasty and the rhinoplasty are two completely different things.

I was worse. I now get on average 3-4 sinus infections a year, but I know when I am sick and I immediately get to the doctor and get it cleared up. Before my surgery, I was always sick. It was horrible.

honeychile-my nose didn't change any, but the surgery was so worth it. Just get in to a ENT.

Okay, dreading the surgery tomorrow. I'll take y'all's word on how it improved your lives! The doctor is my daughter's boss...surely a Chi O doctor won't hurt another Greek!

The doctor has mentioned splints so maybe no tampons? and some deal with a strap under the nose so maybe no tape.

A friend told me she went back to work a few days after her septoplasty and leaned over to hand back a customer's credit card and fluid poured out of her nose all over the card. I wonder if the woman kept it.

good luck!

good luck carnation!! my son had sinus surgery a couple of years back-gosh 4 years actually! Be sure to use your pain meds., sit propped up in a comfortable recliner and LET OTHERS WAIT ON YOU!!!! no bending or lifting.

I did wear tape for 5 days but trimmed it so that it didn't cover my face. I didn't have the "tampons" but did have a splint which they removed after one week.

I wore the strap under my nose for 1 day but one of my friends wore it for several days. My friend did what your friend did and it bled because she kept tilting her head down. I think mine didn't bleed because I did sit and sleep upright.

Good Luck!

I had broken my nose 2 times by the time I was 16 (softball and lacrosse) and it was a little crooked. I also suffered from horrible allergies and would get very bad sinus infections every time I caught a cold.

I ended up having sinus surgery while in college: polyps removed and my sinuses cleared with a laser and my septum fixed all at the same time. I won't lie - the first two days after the surgery were horrible. I was fully packed, had gotten sick from the anesthetic, wasn't eating and couldn't sleep very long and had the worst headache known to man. After the packing was removed, I was much better and could rest and eat. My nose and face were still very sore and I looked pretty beat up. After about a week I think I was 100%.

A lot of people thought I had plastic surgery, but mainly my nose wasn't crooked anymore and my voice kind of changed too - I didn't sound as nasal as I used to.

Since then I've had very few sinus infections (used to get them constantly). I still have bad allergies, but they are much more tolerable now. I broke my nose once after the surgery (car accident - airbag deployed and broke it), but the Drs said it healed ok.

Carnation, I wanted to wish you luck tomorrow. I had sinus surgery last October. If you care to hear the recovery story, I can send it, but your surgery seems to be straight-forward Septoplasty (am I correct?). I had several additional procedures done (Septoplasty, Ethmoidectomy, Removal of the middle and inferior turbinates, removal of polyps). Even with so much work, my packing was minimal; most of it disintegrated. The most important thing to do do during recovery is to use the saline rinse at least until you are healed inside.

Well, it wasn't easy but it wasn't awful.

Good--I haven't had much pain.

Bad--I hate not being able to breathe through my nose! I have splints, which she'll take out on Wednesday, and one of those gauze pad holders across my face. How long did any of y'all have to wear them? Just one day like BenzGirl, I hope?

I sent you a message with my story. I wore the gauze pad for three days, but again, I had several procedures. I didn't feel much surgical pain, but had aching/throbbing in my head/nose/teeth.

I hope that you recover quickly and have good results. Get as much rest as you can and stay hydrated.

Hope you have a quick recovery, but in the meantime get some R&R!

Y'all tell me again how this is going to be worth it once I get the splints out. :(

I promise you, I thought that I made a mistake for a long time. It takes months for the mucous membranes to heal. I pray that you will find relief at some point. Once the splints come out, the pressure will go away. Right now, they're supporting the work that the surgeon did. Relax if you can, sleep (helps you heal), watch tv and let yourself heal. Ibuprofen is great for the aching (if it hit you yet).

Feel free to pm me if you need to vent. Hugs!!

Awww..... :( I'm glad to hear that the procedure went well and pray that everything heals up nice (and quick!).


.....Kelly :)

When DS had the surgery in December he wore the pad holder until the drainage stopped which in his case was about a week. He had quite a bit of work done-- goes along with all the other problems he has had since he was born with quite a bit of midline injury. He had never been able to smell until after the surgery. He gets so excited about smells now which is fun to see since he is 20 and just finding out how good food can smell.

Hope you have a very quick and easy recovery, Carnation

DaffyKD

I had a lot done during my sinus surgery as well, and I had no sense of smell my entire life - until about 6 months after surgery. All of the sudden, food started to taste really good, and I realized that I was actually being able to smell it!

Splints out!!! Thank you all for your support; I didn't know a lot of people who'd had it done.

Yay, I can breathe!

carnation, glad you're breathing right! :) Good to read about all of this. My husband has a deviated septum and needs the surgery to correct it but he wants to get a rhinoplasty while he is at it.

Am I a bad person because I don't want him to get a rhinoplasty? I know he wants it for himself because he's never liked his nose (he says it's too big, he got picked on for it with lame nicknames in his fraternity), but I don't want him to look different because I think he's a really handsome guy anyhow. Oh the conflict...;)