Nasal septoplasty?

spittin_in_the_wind · Post by **spittin_in_the_wind** » Mon Sep 06, 2004 8:12 pm

Hubby (the scary looking guy) had a similar surgery done about 10 years ago. It was day surgery, and if I recall, he was not in a whole lot of pain and went back to work within a day or two. The splints stayed in a week or two, and after that he seemed to be all set. He had the septum repaired and enlarged turbinates dealt with (don't know the specifics of what they did to them). Overall, it seemed to be a whole lot less traumatic than I expected it to be, I think I was more worried about it than he was. The only thing I wish is that they had kept him in recovery longer, since he was kicked out pretty much as soon as he could walk, and then he babbled in a drug haze in the living room for hours after we got home. He didn't seem to swallow any blood, so you might want to ask your surgeon if there are ways to prevent that problem. I think his worst problem was breathing the dry air, as the nasal cavity is wide open until they remove the splints. Maybe a vaporizer would help that.

Good luck with your surgery, and may you and Charlene have many snore-free nights to come!

Robin

rebl_rn · Post by **rebl_rn** » Mon Sep 06, 2004 9:03 pm

My dad had similar surgery done several years ago. He had not only a deviated septum (he broke his nose once in the monastery and once in a bar fight), but also a hole in the septum. Unfortunately, my dad had a bad ENT doctor and not only was he absolutely miserable afterwards,( he said it was worse than the surgery he had to remove half of his lung) it didn't fix the problem. He had the surgery done again a couple years later by a much more competent doctor and, while it wasn't really fun, it was much easier the second time around (and this guy actually fixed the problem).

So I guess the moral of my little story is, make sure your doctor knows what he's doing......

Oh, and my sister also had sinus surgery done earlier this year and for her it was a breeze. Missed a couple of days of work and now breathes much easier and hasn't had a migraine since the surgery.

Beth

Jack · Post by **Jack** » Mon Sep 06, 2004 10:22 pm

Ouch. When I was younger I broke my nose really badly so I'm supposed to have had that surgery, but it's too expensive (I'm deathly afraid of being put to sleep anyway so I don't plan on having it).

Anyway, good luck and get well soon!!

brewerpaul · Post by **brewerpaul** » Tue Sep 07, 2004 5:41 am

Thanks for everyone's input.
On a funny note, when I went to take a look at this message board this morning, I foun this thread about my deviated septum, and right after it was a thread called "clogging issues". funny cooincidence!

Flyingcursor · Post by **Flyingcursor** » Tue Sep 07, 2004 6:05 am

My dad had it done a couple years ago. For decades he had trouble sleeping and breathing. He also had constant sinus problems. Now all that is gone. Tis amazing.

Darwin · Post by **Darwin** » Mon Sep 13, 2004 11:38 pm

brewerpaul wrote:I'm goin' under the knife on Friday for correction of a severely deviated nasal septum.

This was posted on the 6th, so Friday was the 10th, Paul, but I see posts from you on the 10th, 11th, and 13th. Is it some other Friday, or are you just one tough dude?

brewerpaul · Post by **brewerpaul** » Tue Sep 14, 2004 3:53 am

Darwin wrote:
brewerpaul wrote:I'm goin' under the knife on Friday for correction of a severely deviated nasal septum.
This was posted on the 6th, so Friday was the 10th, Paul, but I see posts from you on the 10th, 11th, and 13th. Is it some other Friday, or are you just one tough dude?

I guess I be one tough dude, because Friday the 10th was surgery day.
Actually, it went extremely well and I didn't have huge amounts of pain at all. The Doc gave me 5 days worth of Vioxx for post op pain plus an antibiotic since the nostrils are fairly bacteria laden areas. Right now the worst thing about it is the plastic splints in my nostrils. These are small cages which keep the nostrils open and keep the septum straight. They're not at all visible from the outside although they make the bridge of my nose a bit broader for now. They're sort of uncomfortable, mainly because theyre held in place by a stitch right through the septum-- I told my wife that I might get a nose ring since I already have a hole there :roll: These little gizmos come out tomorrow, which I am greatly looking forward to...

MarkB · Post by **MarkB** » Tue Sep 14, 2004 5:25 am

Happy to hear that everything went well Paul. When the splints come out and everything heals, you will be able to practice circular breathing now and play the didgeredoo.

Just don't sneeze right now!

MarkB

markv · Post by **markv** » Tue Sep 14, 2004 11:44 am

Make sure they get all the gauze out if it hasn't all fallen out yet.

My dad had this surgery doen when I was a little tyke. He went in about three weeks after the surgery to complain that it didn't really change much. The doc looked up his nose and found a six inch piece of gauze still packed up there. I was in the room, since in the 70's you just took your kids everywhere with you. I have never heard a scream so loud or bloodcurdling as when the doc said "Oh, here's the problem" and yanked out the gauze that had pretty much healed into place.

Just grab a big bunch of nose hairs with a pair of hemostats and yank 'em out and that might give an very tiny suggestion of what that felt like.

EEEEEWWWWWW!!

Mark V.

brewerpaul · Post by **brewerpaul** » Tue Sep 14, 2004 12:35 pm

No more gauze packing these days, at least for my Doc. Just the plastic cages I mentioned.They maintain the shape of the septum during healing, but you can breathe through them.
On a funny, sort of musical related note, when I breathe through my new nostrils, I get a sort of whistle tone! Must be air turbulence around the plastic gizmos-- talk about a nose flute!

avanutria · Post by **avanutria** » Tue Sep 14, 2004 1:07 pm

Can you change the pitch and play a tune?

IDAwHOa · Post by **IDAwHOa** » Tue Sep 14, 2004 1:09 pm

brewerpaul wrote:No more gauze packing these days, at least for my Doc. Just the plastic cages I mentioned.They maintain the shape of the septum during healing, but you can breathe through them.
On a funny, sort of musical related note, when I breathe through my new nostrils, I get a sort of whistle tone! Must be air turbulence around the plastic gizmos-- talk about a nose flute!

I still get funny sounds in my sinuses and it has been many weeks since my surgery. Doc said that SHOULD go away, but no guarantees.

Lots of people, especially those that have known me for quite a while, say my voice sounds different. He also told me that that and the hollow sounding voise I am hearing when I talk would go away too. He assured me it was not because he removed any gray matter while in there!!!

So, how do you like the rinses? Yummy.

brewerpaul · Post by **brewerpaul** » Thu Sep 16, 2004 4:45 am

Update: I had the splints removed yesterday. I had imagined them to be smallish cagelike affairs. The PA snipped the stitch holding them in place, grabbed one with a forceps and gently started pullling it out. And continued. And continued... Holy sh*t! These things were literally about 3 inches long!!! The end of them must have been lodged right up against the base of my brain. Amazing.
Good part is that I can breathe like never before. TWO working nostrils-- what a novel idea. After not being able to taste anything for nearly a week, food tastes astoundingly good too. The Doc tells me that my septum was REALLY bad but is now "as straight as an arrow".
All in all, I would highly recommend this procedure for anyone with a deviated septum. It is well worth the rather minimal pain and inconvenience.

greenspiderweb · Post by **greenspiderweb** » Thu Sep 16, 2004 9:58 am

Ahhh, Man, you lost your nosewhistle, I bet! Bummer! Oh, well, at least everything went well, and you're on the mend. Glad to hear it Paul!
Are you sleeping better?
It may be something I could use, I have a deviated septum, and have been a mouth breather for as long as I've been around I guess(almost 51 years)and have had some sinus problems to boot.
Oh no, that's the first time I've written 51, oh man, I'm gonna be over the hill in a couple of months! Time to get some more whistles before I hit old age, or worse, check out! Just imagine, 50 years old, and never had a Bussman! It's a downright shame! I'll have to work on that!
Back to real life; Keep us posted on the positive changes! I could use a voice change too, I sound nasal when I talk, even to myself, and especially if I hear my voice recorded, like on the answering machine. Hey, maybe it will improve my singing-any improvement would be welcome! Let us know, Paul. Take care!

Walden · Post by **Walden** » Thu Sep 16, 2004 1:44 pm

brewerpaul wrote:I'm goin' under the knife on Friday for correction of a severely deviated nasal septum. For the last 50-some years, I've been breathing out of solely one nostril and decided it was time to get this fixed.
I'm just curious if anyone here has had this common procedure, and what the outcome was. How was your recovery? When could you resume vigorous physical activity? Any and all information would be welcome. Thanks

My aunt had this procedure a few weeks back.

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