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Sinus Surgery

Hello,

My ENT Doctor has recommended Endosopic Sinus Surgery to correct my deviated septum and sinus problems.

I have had problems breathing through my nose for years. I have been to 3 ENT Doctors over the last 10 years and they have all told me that I have a deviated septum.  They all recommended surgery.  One of them also had me try Nasal Sprays.  I have not had much luck with Nasal sprays.  All of the ENT Doctors have told me that the nasal spray will not help with the deviated septum.

I would like to get peoples opinions about having this type of surgery, specifically did it help them over the long term.  I have heard about the positive and negatives of this type of surgery and I want to make sure that I am making the correct decision.

Thanks,

Michael



8 Responses
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Avatar universal
It has been recommended to me also that I have turbinate surgery as my middle ones are 3x their normal size and I have a deviated septum. I have terrible headaches and breathe through my nose. I have never had a surgery before so I am very wary of having something done especially on such sensitive tissue. Thank you so much for the information and comments. They are very useful for someone thinking about surgery, otherwise you are only going by what your doctor tells you or general information online. I think after reading everything here I'll try acupuncture first.
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Avatar universal
Thank you for your input I appreciate it. Im still not better yet probably call the doctor tommorrow.I check this site all the time so I will be looking for anything new you have to say or anything else.
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Avatar universal
Hi,
First , since I was last on here, I have something to add.
I continued to feel "deathly ill" and despite being on IV Rocephin the right ear throbbing and right maxillary pain became excruciating again, .  I woke up wet from perspiration at night despite the a/c on 65.  Then couldnt go back to sleep because of this feeling of being so ill.  Nothing like flu symptoms, so much worse.   I felt, literally like I was going to die, like I had a horrible infection.  I again got this thick ,clear,  mucous, and sweet smell in my nostrils and the thick mucous felt like it was going in my ears, and also post nasal drip was sending it to my lungs and it was painful to breathe.  Couldnt get the first docotr to culture it becasue he didnt see yellow and he said my isnuses were not inflammed.  Then second doctor cultured it and it was identified as MRSA and now I am on IV Vancomycin, since yesterday, already feeling well, and NO pain or throbbing in ear or maxillary sinus, or in back of eye and in the tonsil area.  My neurologist told me to wait until Vanco started before starting the nerve pain medication that I had asked him for , because he was convinced that the pain was also from the sinus infection.  He was right.

Please be careful of surgery.  If there is an alternative, maybe try it.  Most importantly make sure that you're doctor gets a sinus culture EACH time you have a sinus infection.  Not assume that its always the same bacteria.  Also, I wish I had asked my doctor to put me on IV anibioics first, before my first surgery.   Before my first sinus surgery, I had been on oral antibiotics to no avail.  I had terrible asthma from the infection.  When I was put in the hospital 2 days prior to surgery I was started on IV antibiotics and ALL my symptoms had gone away.  It didnt occur to me to not go through with the surgery.  To ask him to continue me on the IV antibiotics and see if that would finally get rid of it, since I felt 100% better.  I also didnt know that sinus surgery meant actual surgical cutting into your sinus tissue-I thought that they would just drain out the pus,.  Anyway I ended up in my own personal nightmare, hopefully I will now be able to get well on the Vanco.  But I ended up so much sicker than I ever imagined possible, BECAUSE of my surgeries.  I wish I had asked questions asked them to keep me on IV antibiotics.  I think they they would have worked.  Feel free to email me at   ***@****
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Avatar universal
I read about your input but i dont know what to do I am so frustrated because it is 3 weeks now and my nose still closes off inside on the left side when i lay down and or sleep. So bad that I did go to family doctor and get sleeping pills because I cant live on 3-4 hours a sleep a nite but I cant also live on sleeping pills either. So Ive read about not getting turbinates cut or laser there's something they can do in the office like radio waves something like that.No cutting involved what do you think about that? Thats weird that you mention about the ear throbbing cause in the last few days I have been having that. I haven't done anything about it yet because i still have been eating fine. Do you think I have an infection still from adenoid surgery because of the swollen turbs and now im getting this throbbing in my ear?  well thanks for any more input.
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Avatar universal
Hi,
Please be very careful before sinus surgery.  I have had 2 sinus surgeries in the past 6 months and I have now ended up on IV antibiotics, with a serious infection, DESPITE the IV rocephin, and unbearable.  If I knew then about the complications of surgery, i.e that you could be so much worse off, I would have tried the antibiotics longer.  But, although I am a nurse, I didnt know that sinus surgery meant surgically cutting into your sinuses, I thought it just meant that they drain the pus out of the sinuses, I really had no idea, and now I feel as though I let myself be butchered.  I haven't been able to get rid of infection since my second surgery in October.  A month ago I had incredible throbbing in my ear which felt horribly infected.  I couldn't get treatment for 2 weeks because no one could "see anything".  I finally was unable to speak or eat for 2 weeks and felt like I had a deadly infection throughout my body.  I thought I would die from a brain hemorrhage or just die from the pain.  Finally, on my 4 th ER visit in 4 days(each time at a different hospital), some smart person decided not to treat me like a psych patient and started me on IV antibiotics, despite the fact that my bloodwork was normal, and within 2 doses, I was mentally clear again, and the pain subsided.    It was and continues to be a terrifying experience for me because I trusted that if I were in pain that someone would take me seriously.  Instead they treated me like I was a nutcase.  Now, I am on antidepressents Lexapro for severe anxiety, and do have to see a psychiatrist becuause I am terrified that the infection is going to come back and they won't be able to detect it again.
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Avatar universal
Hello you seem very informative, I was wondering a couple of things here is my story- In august of 06' i had my adenoids removed had infection afterwards then in october 06' a piece of granulated tissue did not heal in the area of the surgery so my ENT cut that out. So anyway I think that problem is better but lately when I lay down mostly on my left side my nose gets like "swollen shut" cannot breathe while trying to sleep I only sleep an average of 3-4 hours  a nite and maybe only 1 good nite a sleep a week. anyway my ENT put me on rhinocort aqua twice daily-2 sprays each nostril. I've only been on this for a week it may take few weeks to help. Few questions though  1. will this cure the swollen turbinates and get better? 2. I was thinking of asking my family doctor for sleeping pills because im losing way too much sleep but do you think the sleeping pills will decrease my breathing and make this problem worse? and 3. Will I have to stay on rhinocort aqua forever so my turbs wont swell?  I had a bad time with adenoid surgery I really dont want to get my turbs cut but i cant put up with not sleeping because i wake up because i cant breathe.  i have no allergies and i dont smoke.  thanks for any input you might have.
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Avatar universal
In 1998 I had a septorhinoplasty (full nose job inside and out) and was left with obstructed breathing in on my right side, and so within six months had another full septoplasty and had excellent results.  (My ent also commented that he trimmed my turbinates.)  My breathing was amazing, way better than it ever had been before even my first surgery.  My smell and taste was enhanced.  I was very happy.  

However, two years ago I developed a bad sinus infection.  It cleared up but I was left with a swollen turbinate in my right nostril side again.  It has since then developed into vasomotor rhinitis, which basically means that the turbinate swells and shrinks to an abnormal extreme, bigger than it should when it swells.  (normal noses have a swell/shrink cycle alternation in their turbinates; my right turb is swelling and shrinking in a "hyper" kind of way, you could say.)  I have no allergies.

This time my ENT is hesitant to trim them again.  He's trying to get me to find the right nasal sprays instead, but honestly it's driving me crazy how that nostril plugs up when I lay on my right side.  Apparently, my septum is still straight except for slightly in the tip.  He also said that if he did trim it lightly, it may grow back again like it already has.

So there's a catch-22 you need to be aware of.  As Canada said, straightening the septum is fine, but the turbinates are tricky.  Trim not enough, and it/they may grow back anyway like mine did.  Trim too much, and you are left with a severely dry nose and at that level the turb will NEVER grow back.  Please go to www.emptynosesyndrome.org to make yourself fully informed about the function of turbinates and the problems that can be caused by taking away too much of them.

So my overall answer is yes and no.  It was totally worth it for six years.  Then I developed chronic congestion again after a sinus infection, so be aware that the results may not necessarily be permanent if your turbs ever swell again.  But most important of all, be completely informed about what may be happening to your turbinates more than any other aspect of your surgery, and TALK TO YOUR DOCTOR ABOUT THEM MORE FULLY.  Please, I cannot stress it enough.  I researched turbinates to try and figure out why my ent is so hesitant to trim them again, and discovered the severe problems that can result so now I know why he's been so hesitant!
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Avatar universal
Mke,

Please do me a favor and only get the septum done and leave the sinus/turbinates alone. I had my septum and sinus's done and i've been suffering now for 12 weeks post op and I don't think it's gonna get better..Please for my sake and yours just do the septum it's a bit uncomfortable but my splints came out in three days and it's no biggy..
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