deviated septum question

[Sherry777]

I am scheduled to have surgery one week from today, septoplasty with bilateral inferior turbinate cauterization, partial bilateral middle turbinate resection.

My question is, after the surgery and stints are put in my nose, will I have any breathing capacity through my nose at all, if so, about how much percent>
Thanks

[tercr7]

I had surgery as an adult for this .

It really depends I suppose , what it's being done for .

If for allergies  and an already  stuffed up nose , you could be breathing out of your mouth more than your nose  for a bit .

[currentlyregenerating]

Septoplasty for deviated septum and coblation of the turbinates

My teenage son had this as outpatient surgery two days ago. Day one was pretty rough, so keep current on those painkillers. His doctor's advice; use bags of frozen peas instead of ice packs - they mold to the face better. The cold really helps. He also told me to get an over the counter spray called "simply saline" to spray right in the nose to keep it moist. This seems a little scary at first but it didn't hurt and actually made him feel better. It's more like a fine mist(we're on our second bottle). Keep your face tilted down so it will drip back out of your nose instead of down the back of your throat. Just make sure the bleeding has stopped first - a little oozing is ok. We didn't start this until about 12 hours out.
The doc also said he would bleed a bit due to some of the drugs they use in surgery but this only lasted the first day. Make sure to keep your head up and spit the drainage out or you will get a stomachache from swallowing the blood. The following morning the bleeding had mostly stopped - we took the dressing off and he could breathe through the splints right away - I think they might be like little straws. This was exciting as he is already getting more air than he had before the surgery, even though his nose is swollen. He will get the splints out in a few more days. I hope something here will help you through a few miserable days. It will be worth it, though.
My sister had this done years ago and said it changed her life. Best of luck.

[Sherry777]

Thanks for your previous input about the septoplasty.  I'm going today to have the nurses remove the splints.  The doctors have both gone on vacation and won't be back till next week.  Did your son have to irrigate his nose after the splints came out?  I'm hoping that's what you do.  I just think it would feel good to do that.  My nose is still sore but I guess that's to be expected.  I'm still taking Tylenol as of now.  

[National Jewish Health]

This is a question that would be best answered by the surgeon, based on his/her past experience with these procedures.  The degree to which your nose will be obstructed will be determined, to a large degree, on the amount of tissue swelling that occurs at the operative site and that will be dependent upon surgical technique and your tissue response to surgical trauma.  With the stints, you should be able to breathe through your nose without great difficulty.  But, do ask your surgeon.

Good luck.

[currentlyregenerating]

Day 6 - feeling much better, appetite finally returns. Took a little walk last night but not ready to run yet (cross country team)
Hmm, hope I didn't mislead you about the breathing through his nose- he didn't have a LOT of air through the splints, just more than he was used to with the deviation. And let me tell you he was not a happy camper for a few days. Get yourself a bunch of movies to watch. Take your painkillers. Make sure you have someone to wait on you and give you plenty of sympathy. We just propped him up on the couch and gave him the remote, his bag of peas and slushies from the 7-11.
He got the splints out yesterday after 5 days and what a huge relief. Evidently there are several styles of splint and his doctor used a larger one on him for some reason so it might have been worse for him. No doubt about the splints being very uncomfortable but I think they beat the heck out of the packing that they used to use. When the splints came out he felt better immediately, no more pain or painkillers, not even tylenol. He says he can't tell yet how much better he will be able to breathe yet as there is still a bit of swelling inside his nose.
Overall he never looked too bad after the first day, even though he felt bad. No black eyes, and the swelling looked painful but wasn't as bad as I expected it to be.
A tip on the saline - use it every hour or two to keep clots from blocking off the little tubes. Yeah that happened to him, we didn't realize it til we saw the splints, which have little straw-like tubes so you can still breathe. Spray the saline right up there too. I hope you got the "simply saline" and not just a saline wash. That brand has a very gentle mist, not a stream that might hurt when you spray it.
The doc also told us that teenage boys seem to have the most pain from this surgery, though they don't know why. So maybe things will be even better for you.
good luck, and remember, it will all be worth it! Even a week of misery is a fair trade for a lifetime of finally BREATHING!

[Sherry777]

Hi,
I was just wondering how your son is doing at this point after his surgery.

[Sherry777]

Thanks for your response.  This makes me feel better about the surgery.  They told me on the phone yesterday they would only be using splints and not packing.  I thank God for that. I was concerned about the packing and my  breathing.  I'm glad I'll be able to breathe through my nose with the splints even if it's not till the next day.  I have already bought some saline and I think I'll start using it even now to maybe get a "jump start" with the moisturizing.  I don't guess that will hurt, hopefully it will help some.  I guess I need to get some peas also.  Thanks again.  God bless you.