Turbinate Reduction Recovery

[ENTGal]

I had the procedure done a few weeks ago, and wanted to know if anyone can share their recovery stories.  Of course the first week was miserable, until the splints were removed. But I'm having trouble breathing freely from one nostril.  Is this normal?

[JR_ROUNDROCK]

How about resuming use of a CPAP mask?

[neil314]

hey lisa 593,
I had the turbinate reduction surgery about a week ago and my left nose is dry and has a burning sensation due to too much air getting in.  The right side, which was blocked most of the time, is opening up a little each day.  Does the dryness on one side get better hopefully?  And what has helped you through it?
Thanks! and hope you feel better.

[elizabeth921]

hya read about your bone
and just to say my son had  septoplasty and terbinate reuction in april and its now august and his turbinate reduction side stinks like corpses and he still gets weird gunk and green scabs out  a lot especially in the morning
we thought this wasnt right and went to see another ent
he had alook and said it was due to an unhealed bone  and that it probably wouldnt heal now and would need an op
he doesnt want an operation
did your ent say how long this would take to heal with you\/
and does yours smell bad?
please can we chat as my son is so depressed?
thankyou
elizabeth my email is ***@****

[nose2923]

what happens if you fly after 10 days with turbinate surgery? can you cause any damage?

[carlosap1986]

Hey there, i had the same procedure done about 1 month and a half ago and i am still having a few issues when breathing through my nose, i do feel like my left nostril gets more air in then the right, but when the right one opens up and the left closes down to about 15-20% i actually feel much better and comfortable when breathing, is this what you are going through? did it actually get better over time? my doctor says i am almost healed up but now i have to give it some more time so everything gets back to normal, please tell me that was the same case for you and that things do get better over time, because this feeling is killing me!!!

[ben2091]

hey i have had my turbinate reduction surgery 4 days ago. I had only my right turbine reduced and I'm just wondering that after the surgery isit normal for it to be swollen as i am having difficulty breathing through that nostril if so, how long does it take for it to eventually reduce in size?

[typqueen]

I had the procedure two months ago as well.  I have horrendous pressure, dryness, post nasal drainage that I could put in a gallon jug it's so ridiculous.  The doctor said there is still crusting that they suction out every couple weeks and he told me last week there is a part of exposed bone yet that hasn't covered over.  He says it will heal and I know my ENT is amazing, but it's so frustrating.  I had this procedure to feel better.  After two months, you'd think I would.  I'm so frustrated.  headaches, drainage, facial pressure.  It's just awful.  I've even had a couple courses of steroids and antibiotics.  Many pain meds don't even help at this point.  

[rgomez3332]

I just had my turbinates reduced and was given no after care instructions, just a prescription for antibiotics. I called today to ask if i missed those instructions and was told "unfortunately there's not much you can do"...my problem is that i cant breathe, therefore cant sleep therefore i'm miserable. Prior to my surgery i had a sinus infection (for 2 weeks) and told my Dr. so. Now after my surgery my post-nasal drip is lessened but now i'm only able to breathe for 8 hours max when i take Afrin...which i have already been taking for 5 days....so i stopped. I tried a sinus rinse, but that ended up getting "stuck" in my sinuses and it really hurt and created a very stuffy feeling in my head...so now i'm back to feeling like complete S...this surgery-so far- has actually made things worse (although it has only been 3 days)....any suggestions to cope with the breathing problem? any meds that might make me function?

[shekhar249]

how much time it takes to recover from turbinater reduction surgery?
I had my surgery done on 11 nov 2010 its been around 2 months
n I was able to breathr freely only for 2-3 days in between now both nostrils still release some hard mucous...
how much time it will take more to recover fully??

[Mot1823]

I'd like share my experience, too. I had an inverting papiloma removed (one side, thankfully benign), inferior and middle turbinates trimmed, small polyps removed, and septoplasty performed 10 days ago. The surgery lasted almost 4 hours and I was able to go home from hospital by the end of the day. The first few days after surgery were not very pleasant. I wore the gauze mustache for most of 3 full days and some of the 4th until the oozing was manageable by dabbing with gauze or tissue (get tissues with aloe or lotion!). I slept with two thick pillows with my torso in a 45 degree position...I had no problem with that since I have used multiple pillows on and off for years due to extreme congestion. The packing and splint gave me ongoing headache for a week....sometimes it was really sharp pain, especially if I moved my head quickly. I took the prescribed pain killer as scheduled for the first 72 hours (not full dose each time depending on pain) then went to tylenol as needed. Plan ahead-pain killers can cause serious constipation! I learned the 'hard' way that I needed to take a stool softener -never did that in my 50 years of life! I also used the pain killer the day I had packing and splint removed on the 7th day (took pain killer an hour before appointment and several times after). Doc did additional work at this 2nd appointment that created  additional discomfort and required more packing (apparently dissolvable). I feel better today. I can breathe better and I new packing appears to be dissolving (looks like thick mucous now). I started saline mist VERY LIGHTLY on Day 5 to loosen dried blood and keep original packing moist for easier removal. I am using more saline spray starting today (Day 10) and will try Neti Pot per doc instructions tomorrow if I don't have anymore discharge. Next appt with doc is on Day 14. I hope rest of packing will be dissolved by then or removed. I feel 90% now. I took 10 full days off work and I am working from home for the next 4 until next appt (I have plenty of days coming to me so I decided to use them). I see no reason I can't resume full time work on Day 15. Cautions: no bending over, no straining, no stooping, no heavy lifting, only drive when not on pain killer and you feel like you can move your head safely. No nose blowing for 2-3 weeks. In reading the other posts I have learned that my experience is fairly typical. I want readers to know what I went through so they are not scared off. I already feel the benefits and do not hesitate recommending endoscopic sinus surgery to anyone needed relief from sinus polyps and structural problems like a deviated septum.

[Larry4746]

I just had septoplasty and submuscosal resection of the inferior turbinates surgery today (5-3-2010). I don't have hardly any pain, but I am conjested pretty bad. Also the general anesthesia made me feel bad most of the day. I think the anesthetic made me real anxious. I had some bad anxiety for much of the day but I seem to be alittle better now,(late evening). I also had really dry mouth. It's bad when your nose is about 95% stopped up and you have dry mouth. I'm taking cephalexin 500 mg 3 times a day for my antibiotics and lortab7.5/500 tablet for the pain medicine. I don't know much about medicine but I'm sure one of these pills is causing my dry mouth or a combination of everything together, don't really know? The surgeon is probably the best one in my area so I know he did a top notch job (thats why no pain).

[cc102]

I have been suffering from nasal congestion and allergies for over ten years. I had septoplasty, turbinoplasty as well as concha bullosa takendown last week.  I feel great after my doctor pulled the splints out. I can breath freely from both nostrils without afrin for the first time in ten years. I still experience some dryness especially every morning i wake up, but Simply Saline takes care of it easily.
My doctor used the most advance technique called xomed micro debrider(better than coblation, because it preserves the function of cilia and turbinate).  
I have recent found something called " empty nose syndrome'. It literally sacred the crap out of me.   Can someone please tell me more about it and how to prevent it from happening?  
Thank you in advance

[Megs09]

I had the inferior turbinates reduced in both nostrils. Now that the nose is clearing up, the air coming through does seem to cause burning. And yes, I've noticed my right nostril is still completely clogged. But I'm only 4 days post opt. I'm hoping with time the burning ceases. For now, nasal saline spray 5 times a day and half a hydrocodone. (I had a endoscopic sinus surgery as well in the right nostril)

[binky1880]

Did your surgery help with the under eye swelling?  I too have swelling under my eyes and swollen turbinates with pressure around my eyes .....so frustrating

[laaz]

I had the coblation done to my right turbinate yesterday.  I was wondering did any of you that had the coblation done - did any of you have post nasal drainage along with the swollen turbinates??  I have the swollen turbinate and alot of post nasal drainage and I heard that the coblation might help with the post nasal drainage.  That is why I was wondering if any of you had post nasal drainage and if the coblation helped with it.  Any input about the coblation would be helpful.  My doctor only did my right side to see how it would work before he did the left side.  He also was very conservative , he only did half the time like 6 seconds instead of the 10 to 12 seconds.       Thanks in advance for any info or input at all.                 Laaz

[ENTGal]

I too had the septoplasty due to a deviated septum about 4 weeks ago in addition to the coblation.  I'm breathing much better now, just dealing with seasonal allergies.  Luckily it hasn't caused major or uncomfortable stuffiness.  Vaccaro after the surgery were you able to breathe freely out of both nostrils?  I feel that one side is not as clear as the other, but I believe it is b/c it was the most problematic.

[vaccaro]

what type of procedure did you have lisa593.  I would like some input as I am having turbinate reduction surgery w/a septoplasty next week. The left turbinate is swollen and blocking my left nose.  I also have a deviated septum to that side too.   I had the coblation procedure done to the front part of my left turbinate in April of 2006 but it wasn't enough.  It lasted for about 19 months and then I started having probelms again after I caught a cold.  Therefore, I have opted to have surgery...I had opted for the coblation procedure first b/c it is the least intrusive (done in an office in about ten minutes).  My nose is dry on occasion since having the coblation procedure done, however, it is mainly dry when it is swollen.  When it is not swollen it is fairly normal.  I use the AYR nasal rinse kit.  It does help a lot...   ENTgal are you still feeling better and did you have the deviated septum surgery too or just coblation????  

[ENTGal]

Fortunately, I'm breathing much better now.  Just the occasional light nose bleed when I blow too hard.  The coblation procedure was used to reduce my turbinates.  I too am suffering from the nasal dryness.  The burning sensation has stopped for the most part.  Right now my routine consists of using a nasal rinse kit daily and Ayr saline.  At night I sometimes use a little neosporin for the dryness, saline during the day and sleep with a humidifier nightly.  Are you able to breath clearly out of both nostrils or does the air flow in one feel different than the other?

[lisa593]

I have been searching and searching for someone out there struggling like me.  I had trubunate reduction 8 weeks ago.  I have the opposite problem.  Too much air, burning, and dryness.  I hope I can recover and that this is not Empty Nose Syndrome.  What procedure was done to reduce the turbunates?

[Ashwin212]

Hey how you doing now..do you stil have the dryness.how long it took to recover from the symptoms and what u used for the dryness