Septoplasty and reducing Turbinates

Hi,I will be having this surgery at the end of the month and am a little anxious.How safe is it? have also been reading about 'Empty Nose Syndrome' and its really bothering me.Can anyone who has had this surgery advise me please?
Thanx in advance.

[bosnianworrier]

I had this surgery 2 years ago. Surgery itself was OK, as I was 90% asleep. The worst thing was those plugs in my nose and I had to breath thru my mouth for 3 days. Plus the pain got bad post surgery.

The worst thing is, the surgery didnt improve my symptoms. But it fails only in 1% of patients. Good luck

[asiv]

Did u have the turbinates removed too?? ive read that its more trouble then its worth.Ive had a crooked nose for 26 years now and its never caused me any problems except that i couldnt breath thru my left nostril.Last september i started to get a sore throat and on going to the ENT they pointed out that i had a crooked nose and i should get that fixed.So here i am 5 mths down the road getting ready to have it done.Have read so many horror stories that its kinda freaking me out.

[bosnianworrier]

no i didnt remove turbinates. it is a more difficult surgery than people can imagine. once you do it you will have a few days of hell. but if u got severe problems go for it. Better to suffer severly for 5 days than moderately forever.

[Richter_Belmont]

i have this exact similar problem like asiv. the ENT doctor suggested  that i need to undergo septoplasty because the septum of my nose is curved. i also have difficulty breathing on my left nostril.


i have a question to you asiv. please reply to me brother.^_^

so you suffered this problem for 26 years. wow thats long. in my case  i live with this crooked nose for 5 years.

but THIS IS NOT THE ONLY PROBLEM THAT IM FACING.it change my personality for worst. my nose problem is affecting my personality, my mind, my mood.

i would like to ask you if you also having problem on your personality because of our nose problem. how is your lifestyle after you got this crooked nose. hows your life living with this nose problem for 26 years?.

please reply my friend.

[Richter_Belmont]

so you also cant breathe well on your left nostril. i also would like to ask if you sometimes feel numb on your left side of your body because you cant breathe on your left nostril?. because sometimes when i cant breathe on my left nostril completely,some parts of my left body  felt numb. even my left side of my penis.

talking about the mind. hows your emotion?. i mean when i cant breathe on my left nostril. im became less expressive. like I'm becoming a robot. no expression, no emotion.

do you also grind your teeth?.

[asiv]

I had no problems in the 26 years ive had it.Not being able to breathe thru the left nostril didnt effect me at all until september when i went to ENT with a throat complaint.He said the throat being sore might be due to the fact that i have a crooked nose and that i should get it corrected and take it from there.No numb feelings at all and my emotions have been fine.A was a little anxious with the throat problem thinking the worse other then that nothing.

[vaccaro]

Have you had your surgery yet?  Just wondering how you are if you have had it. I am due to have a septoplasty w/turbinate reduction at the end of march.  Let me know...Thanks a lot!!!

[asiv]

Not yet...I have it on the 28th.Will post once ive had it.

[footsteps86]

hey im curious of an update on how your surgery went and how you feel

[asiv]

Hi,had my surgery thank God all went well.Was feeling groggy the 1st day after surgery.After that its been fine! not much pain at all just feel off balance and slightly dizzy.Vast improvement in breathing thru left nostril.Turbinates were not reduced in the end...the surgeon just pushed them back to clear airways i was told.So if your having it done just ask the surgeon to leave turbinates alone if possible and just push them aside.Overall if u need to get the surgery done then go for it.Its not half as bad as i thought it was going to be.

[footsteps86]

yea im havign a septoplasty,turbinate surgery not sure which kind yet have to talk to my dr and eptoscopic sinus surgery im most worried abotu the turbinate surgery..cause of all i read with empty nose syndrome

[asiv]

Turbinate reduction was my concern too after reading up on it.I spoke to the surgeon on the day of surgery and expressed my concern and he said he was'nt a big fan of turbinate reduction/removal anyway and would only do if neccessary.I told him i would prefer a turbinate over-fracture which means just push them aside to clear the airways and thankfully thats what he did.From what i can gather if turbinate reduction is neccessary then if the surgeon does'nt snip too much off it can do wonders.It all depends on the surgeon.If i was u id read up on it and speak to the surgeon.If u pretend u know what ure talking about like i did he might try an alternative procedure to put ure mind at ease. :-)

[asiv]

Sorry!! want to make a correction,the procedure i had was turbinate out fracture NOT turbinate over fracture.

[footsteps86]

alright thanks for the info thats what i planned on doing going in there with print outs..i mean theres even a link on there website to another dr who discusses the topic and says not to remove the full thing or not to take much from it so im going to use that

[asiv]

ok,good luck.Pls let me knw how it went after u have the surgery.

[footsteps86]

i just got back from speaking with my dr and it will be reduction she said they will never remove turbinates..so that eased my mind now just gotta wait for the surgery date let you know how it goes post op