sore throat and uvula after procedure

Question

I had an outpatient gyn procedure done 4 days ago with post procedure mouth, uvula, and throat soreness.  By the evening, my uvula was so long and red, it was gagging me.  The area of the throat directly behind the uvula and the right tonsillar pillar was red and sore.  Slowly, over the past few days, the uvula has shortened, but still rests on my tongue.  The lower third of it is now grayish-white.  The area behind the uvula is looking better and so is the tonsillar pillar, but my posterior mouth is so sore!  It seems to be sore above my soft palate, posterior tongue, uvula, and throat.  In looking at my mouth, it looks mildly red, not too remarkable.  
My gyn procedure went well and was only 15 min. long.  The nurse anesthetist said he would 'do it the easy way' while I was under general anesthesia, which I understood that meant I would have something resting in the back of my mouth and not full intubation.  I went into the OR after 9 a.m. and was recovered and went home at noon.  I am not aware of any complications due to the anesthesia.
I had knee surgery 6 months ago due to an accident and was sore due to the intubation, but it resolved without incident.  This is different.  I do not have a fever, but have decreased appetite and an inability to eat spicy, salty, and sweet as it hurts!  Swallowing large gulps of fluid is also painful.  I am a healthy non-smoker who is looking for some answers and comfort!

ROBMOSE · Answer

SO, 4 days ago I had breast revisionary surgery and my right now my throat hurts more than my surgery itself. Upon waking up from surgery, the first thing I noticed was something hanging in the back of my throat. It felt like a flap that annoyingly kept touching the back of my tongue. I seriously thought a chunk of my throat had come off. Nurse said, "Oh yeah, your throat is going to be a bit sore" Anyway, I was given pain meds and antibiotics so the pain was not really noticeable at first. Fast forward that evening of surgery, pain meds were wearing off, and OMG my throat was on FIRE. I couldn't eat anything even though I was starving. I wanted soup but anything warm to hot... OH NO, it just couldn't go down.. so much pain. I looked in the mirror and the bottom third of my uvula was white and inflamed. It definitely hurt more than my surgery itself. I took my pain meds and the pain subsided a bit. So like clockwork, I took pain meds every 4 hours to avoid the pain. It helped a lot. So I was pretty much drugged up for the first good 48hours. The doctor's office called day 2 and scheduled my post op appointment for day 6. I was drugged up pretty good and forgot to mention my throat pain so I agreed and said all was good. Moving forward.. I still could barely eat. I decided on fruit smoothies to numb the pain and to allow myself to eat soft room temp foods. So on day 3 my ears started to hurt. I hated it so much I just wanted to sleep to make it go away, and so sleep I did. Today (Day 4), I looked in the mirror at the back of my throat and OMG the part of my uvula that was white has now turned black!!! I am totally freaking out. As strange as it seems, I am not experiencing much pain in my throat or ears anymore though. It is a Saturday so no one is at doc's office and i am seriously considering going to Urgent care. Please has anyone had this happen to them before?

Linds111 · Answer

I have had almost exact same symptoms: very sore uvula touching the back of my throat gagging me, making it very uncomfortable to swallow or eat. I just had a nose re-alignment surgery and was not expecting this to be the worst of the pain. Hopefully this will heal itself. Wondering how long I will be in pain??

MariaMcMoon · Answer

Thank you so much for posting. I am having the same issue. Same pain. I am so angry. So frustrated. The first anesthesiologist who did this same surgery was gentle--I barely had a tiny sore throat for 3 hours. Zero problems. I swear. I requested this same doc for this recent surgery. Apparently he was not available. I got this angry, rude, arrogant doctor who, god knows, but it was like he raped my mouth with a Pedi Egg. I believe he did it out of jealousy that I requested another [better] anesthesiologist.  I am cheered that you recovered. Until then, eating and drinking are torture. I am gong to look into how I can complain.

Thoughtitthrough · Answer

My theory expanding upon positional compression (causing a bit inner lip effect) to the uvula as well as operator error upon insert and or removal is: the tubing they are using while not ridge is a rather stiff but not very insulating (mostly due to its thinness as well as composition) essentially causing extreme damage due freezing and temperatures near enough to freezing to cause damage to your uvula which would explain a lot of the variation in severness(between how compressed the uvula was against the tube and the back of the throat and how frozen it became as well as the damage caused by callousness or and incompetence).  How bad did they freeze your uvula? And was it so frozen to the plastic that they ripped off a chunk when they removed it? I had this procedure don't Monday and it has been miserable since its been 7 days and I'm on pretty sever antibiotics flagil and Cipro I can smell the infection in the back of my throat every time I breath through my nose (which was not the case beforehand I assure you) and ever time I spit I'm spitting blood and not just little flecks a majority of the spit was full of darkish(deep/dark maroon not quite purple or the darker blue black). Plus the fact that the uvula is sitting on the back of my tongue and I can feel it at the back of my throat at the same time. I think that this represents gross negligence and incompetence on the part of the anesthesiology and ear nose and throat medical community that air delivered by intubation is not brought to room temperature or better as well as humidified before and being administered directly into someone's lungs via a rather thin tube that while it insulates the air from changing temperature much outside the body (in-part due to how cold the rooms are kept so the surgeons don't drop sweat inside of you; in-part it doesn't mix with the warmer air of the room; impart because until it enters your throat the tube doesn't usually have any sharp bends in it: sharp bends would cause areas of greater energy transfer, more points of energy transfer would mean there was a greater likely hood of the flowing air climbing out of the freezing/damaging temp zone) once it is compressed in side your throat the tube doesn't insulation between still freezing air and the back of your throat which is where the tubing makes its first bend forcing the flow of air to be redirected by bouncing off the wall of the tube that is pressed against your uvula instead of gently flowing by. This would very effectively cause a cold spot to form at the point in your throat most vulnerable to freezing; the soft palet and uvula. All of this equates to frost burn just because the medical community doesn't raise the temperature of the air/oxygen being delivered directly to you enough to prevent it from being damaging.

tbltbl · Answer

I recently had a revision rhinoplasty and had the exact same situation as described by everyone here.  My sore throat felt like strep, and it was so painful to swallow I couldn't eat or drink and anything but water.  I was worried about the pain after surgery from the reconstructed nose and ear skin graft.  Those were minor to the pain in my throat.  The uvela was elongated and there was a large white ulcer on the bottom half.  Most awful pain I have ever had.  Its now been 10 days since the surgery and I am only just able to swallow soup with small soft veggies in it.  Anything more solid is brutal, and I wouldn't dare try acidic, crunchy or spicey.  Would love to know how long it will take to full heal?

Chuck43911 · Answer

Just want to thank this site and members for letting me know about the pain I can look forward to in the next few days after having a procedure this morning at 0630, it now being 2PM. Having all the described symptoms now so no reason not to suspect the rest will show up over the next few days! Well at least it's Christmas tomorrow I still have that! So Merry Christmas to all!

Eyepad · Answer

Thanks for posting.  Your situation sounds just like mine.  Did yours get better on its' own?

scottmjones · Answer

hi finerf, i work in a hospital as a nurse and have also suffered from this. the problem will always resolve it self. however some people suffer from uvula necrosis, this is where the uvula will actually die off and remove it self from the rest of the body, however this isnt always the case pain usual subsides between 7 and 10 days.

Finearf · Answer

I see your uvula problem from 2011.  I just had op and have what you described.  Did yours get better?  What happened and how fast?
Greatly appreciate to know how your story looked from 3 years' distance?

PictureThisChris · Answer

The same thing happened to me! I had a septoplasty on Monday and it is now Friday and the uvular pain has only gotten worse. It is mostly white at the bottom but feels heavy and is hanging down low. When I called my doctor he said, "That's unusual", as if he had never heard of it before. He told me to keep an eye on it and if it doesn't resolve in a few days call them back. This board has been more useful than the entire surgical team, ha!

JoShoo · Answer

Wow I can't believe how common this is. I had a three hr gynae procedure done on weds from which I'm almost recovered (4 days post-op). However after coming round properly the most severe pain was on my throat.

Was of course told by the incredibly busy and dare I say incompetent nursing staff that its normal. However they kept me in an extra night as I was unable to swallow liquids. 

After kicking up a stink they sent me to ENT who told me I'd had an uvula trauma during intubation. When I looked I couldn't believe it. My uvula was completely grey and twice its size. One side of my soft palate was sliced and my throat was white. He said to eat ice cream! WTF!?

4 days on and I've been back as I simply can't function like this. My tummy has healed well but I'm too weak to fully recover cos I can't eat or drink. 

They explained there was nothing I could do, that day 4 is always the peak when feeling with mucosa traumas (in the mouth, nose, lips etc) and to expect to feel better by tomorrow.

I swear I have never been in so much pain -and I've given birth! I seriously want to sue them for negligence. 

The only plus is that I've got really skinny.. Every cloud huh!

ermagerd · Answer

I had a FESS & septoplasty on Friday morning, it's now Tues morning and my pain is unbearable in my throat.  My uvula is almost completely gray, swollen so much it's hanging down onto the base of my tongue & the sides of my tongue, tonsils & throat are on fire. Can't eat anything but cream of chicken soup & ice. I was also on antibiotics following surgery.  Going back to GP to see what they can do about it tomorrow.  The pain has been so intense at times I've gone into a blind panic trying to reduce it.  I feel like ripping my throat out.....this is worse than the procedure carried out by far.
Glad to read others have had similar because the pain is so intense I felt something was hideously wrong.

orientboy · Answer

I agree it is a relief knowing other people have had the same thing. I had 2 buried teeth removed under general and after 2 revisits to the hospital, found out that my uvula had been scratched whilst the breathing tube was inserted or removed. Never experienced worse pain in my entire life. I haven't eaten in 4 days and have just been forcing myself to drink water but thankfully it's healed a lot and I think it'll be ok in a couple of days. It was severely ulcerated and white and now the white has almost faded and it's very red.

I too am experiencing severe pain in my ears however it's only brief and after swallowing. It doesn't sound very nice but I've been spitting all my saliva into  cup rather than swallowing it as the pain is so severe. When I drink the pain is just about bearable but I wince and afterwards have to sit still for a few minutes to get over the pain/shock. 

When I went to the hospital for the second time I met a Dr who was part of the team who performed my surgery. She said there are 4 different types of throat with the 4th having the smallest throat. I was told most people who have this type of throat suffer from this and that if I ever have surgery in the future it's likely I'd get this again. 

To anyone reading this who is suffering from it, keep your mouth clean and gargle anti-bacterial mouthwash but don't use one with alcohol in if you're taking antibiotics that don't mix with alcohol.

Also don't eat any food which could re-scratch it like bread or anything hard. Jelly and soup is what I tried but I couldn't manage it. Anything hot or even warm will make it feel much worse because it cause inflammation. So consume cold or room temperature food/drink. Anything with milk in like ice cream or milkshakes aren't advisable because they make you salivate more. It's the same with orange juice. Pineapple juice is good because it has natural painkillers and antibiotics in it but may sting if the ulcers are still exposed.

Other than that mine's not far from healing completely and it's been 7 days since the operation and 5 since the ulcers appeared.

Wish anyone who has this well as I can safely say at 1 point I was close from going mad from the pain. It's so extreme.

Joelle74 · Answer

Omg......it's such a relief to read that others are experiencing this as well.  I am sooooo frustrated and I am in severe pain!   I had a septoplasty done 5 days ago and they damaged my uvula and throat.  GRrrrrr......  I thought the majority of my pain would result from the actual surgery.  I didn't feel the major discomfort immediately after my surgery.  The awkward feeling in my throat was felt upon waking up the next morning.  I could barely swallow as I could feel my uvula rest on the back of my tongue and when I looked to see it was half white????   I was definately concerned and proceeded to look up what could have caused this.  As time progressed........it got worse............so sore.........the pain was radiating up the back of my throat and up to my ear drums.  (stabbing pain in my ears)  I got myself to a clinic on the Saturday morning (surgery was Wednesday) and the doc tested me for Strep and it was negative.  He didn't see infection in my ears so he gave me a Tantum gargle.  I knew this wouldn't cut it but what could I do??  I left a little depressed.....  I have been taking my Tylenol 3's with codeine (mostly taking 1 every 4 hours) but it is not putting a dent in the searing pain.  I can barely sleep at night......the second the pain meds start to wear off I can barely stand myself.  The pain shooting up to my ears is a mystery to me and so I went back to the clinic again today and he gave me antibiotics this time but he did so a little reluctantly.  I have a feeling that the pain is related to some sort of infection......because I feel weak and drained.....almost feverish.  I've been on Tylenol the entire time and so I am wondering if that has somehow masked a fever?  Anyways.............here's hoping this solves the problem.  I would also like to take this opportunity to ask doctors to not wait 3 weeks after surgery to see how things are healing..................too LONG.  I can only speak for myself here but my doctor didn't give me any indication that there were issues when they tried to intubate me!!  They had to have known something went wrong.  She could have taking a minute to give me some tips on how to handle this kind of pain instead of writing me a prescription and sending me on my way knowing full well what I was in for.  I'm a bit angry!  The standard .....see you for a follow up in 3 weeks should be moved up if they feel there were complications.  I really did get the impression the patients were like cattle beying pushed out of the day surgery as quickly as possible.  What a business.....I am angry but I am mostly sad to see how the system seems to be despite the best efforts of some of the staff there.  (there were some really amazing nurses but.....they have people breathing down their necks and they barely stop to catch their breath.  Take that extra few minutes for patient care...........it will save a minimum of two to three extra trips to the clinic or doctors office afterwards.  Trips that sick patients would prefer to not have to do when they feel like ****.  There are some great doctors out there.......I'm not criticizing you but you have some who are so arrogant!!!   They do the proceedures and then you can't get near them if anything goes wrong.  It's like there's a wall that sets them appart from the rest of us.....???  Stupid idiots!!  Almost half of the doctors I've encountered personally have a superiority complex.  The last one I had was covering for my family doctor when I gave birth to my second child.  He never came in to do his rounds for him and we coudn't get discharged until he did.  He got pissed off at the nurses for calling him to come in and then tried to tell the afternoon shift that he had already come in to do his rounds early.  (BIG FAT liar) I sent his office the bill for our second night in our room.  It turns out he went for a job and brunch because it was such a nice day.  Classic.....................  Anyways...........I'm venting............but it's making me feel better.  I may just got to medical school and be a great doctor.  The world needs a few more.

Ercillor · Answer

My uvula was damaged by the anesthetist -- according to my ENT surgeon -- during sinus surgery. It is swollen, elongated, and I tend to choke on it.
The surgery took place on October 28, 2011 (Poudre Valley Hospital, Fort Collins, CO) and the damage remains as it was following surgery although it is now one week later.
Will this condition disappear without further intervention? If so, over what period of time may I expect to become healthy again?
Thanks,
Eric        learning_one***@****

Ercillor · Answer

My uvula was damaged by the anesthetist -- according to my ENT surgeon -- during sinus surgery. It is swollen, elongated, and I tend to choke on it.
The surgery took place on October 28, 2011 (Poudre Valley Hospital, Fort Collins, CO) and the damage remains as it was following surgery although it is now one week later.
Will this condition disappear without further intervention? If so, over what period of time may I expect to become healthy again?
Thanks,
Eric        learning_one***@****

ENTMD · Answer

It sounds like you suffered some damage to your uvula secondary to the apparatus placed in your throat to assist with ventilation during the procedure.  The pressure likely resulted in some ischemic trauma to the uvula and the posterior pharyngeal wall. This should heal/recover on its own in time (a week or so).  This should be brought to the attention of the anesthesia team, however, as they need to be aware of such complications!

OHNS2010 · Answer

Hi Pump999,
                 
                   you are having pharyngitis compounded with the aphthous ulcer over the uvula. This is common with the people who undergo procedures under general anesthesia. Hope they would have introduced Laryngeal mask as it was a short procedure. One more thing, to clear your worries these ulceration over the uvula can be due to surgical stress or compression of the mask over it. So I would like to advice you to take plenty of warm water (not hot water), do gargles with Povidone iodine and take some B-complex capsules. Hope with this your symptoms must reduce, if not you will require antibiotics to recover.

regards
OHNS2010

sore throat and uvula after procedure

Why does my throat make a clicking feeling/sound when I swallow?

Hole in throat wall!!

unnecessary FIBEROPTIC LARYNGOSCOPY procedure?

Did the transnasal esophagoscopy cause permanent damage?

Why does my throat make a clicking feeling/sound when I swallow?

Hole in throat wall!!

unnecessary FIBEROPTIC LARYNGOSCOPY procedure?

Did the transnasal esophagoscopy cause permanent damage?

You are reading content posted in the Ear, Nose & Throat Community