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Nasal surgery, anyone care to share their experience?

Dandi

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I'm booked in to have a rhinoplasty at the end of the year. I have a very deviated/crooked septum and can't breathe out of the right side. I also have a decent sized hump on the bridge of my nose, which makes wearing sunglasses pretty uncomfortable. From a purely cosmetic perspective, each side profile of my nose is very different, so I'd say the surgery is 80% fuctional, 20% vanity :bigsmile: It's a reasonable sized reconstruction that the surgeon estimates might take 2-4 hours. Up until now I've had a really hard time justifying the cost, and the time away from our son (he's 21 months), but I'm finding my nose gets worse as I get older. I could barely breathe through my nose at all during my pregnancy, and we are keen for another baby late next year or the next, so I'm hoping to nip this in the bud before another pregnancy also.

I work in the OR where I'll have the surgery, so have every ounce of faith in everyone involved, but am curious to know other people's experience. Has anyone had surgery on their nose and care to share what the recovery was like? Pain/swelling etc? I realise everyone's experience is different, but having only been able to speak to people who have had FESS type operations, I'd be interested to hear, if anyone is willing to share.

Cheers!
 

Monnyjay

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Hi Dandi,

I personally haven't had this type of surgery but have friends who have. One was for medical reasons, the other more cosmetic. Both recovered very well and in a short time. They both had black eyes from the surgery and quite a lot of swelling which subsided after a few weeks.

I hope all goes well for you and your recovery time is short. Sounds like you are in very good hands anyway! :wavey:
 

NewShiny

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Hi Dandi,
I had the exact same operation about a year and a half ago. Septoplasty, turbinate reduction, and rhinoplasty. An ENT did the sinus surgery, then the plastic surgeon came in and did the rhinoplasty to remove a hump from my nose that I've always been self conscious of. The surgery took about 3 hours. My son was 2.5 at the time, so I was worried about a of the same things you are thinking about.

There wasn't much pain after the surgery. I think I only took about 4 pain pills total the week after the surgery. I also didn't have terrible swelling, but there was definitely swelling present. I took the pre and post surgery vitamins and supplements and I really think they helped. I think arnica Montana and bromine were the main ones. The plastic surgeon sold a surgery vitamin/supplement kit that I bought. I also didn't have significant facial bruising (my nose did not need to be broken during surgery), but I did have black eyes for the better part of a week. I think I was ok with leaving the house after about a week.

The hardest part of the surgery for me was not being able to breathe out of my nostrils. It took about 5 days for one side to clear and another couple of days for the other. It took a lot of my energy away not being able to breathe normally. Also, because I had so much done, I think the overall recovery/getting your energy back took longer that if you just had sinus surgery or just the rhinoplasty. I needed an extra two days off work (7 days off work total) before I felt recovered enough to start doing normal things again.

My nose area was extra sensitive for about a month-6 weeks post surgery. My husband did all of the baths and nighttime routine for about 3 weeks following surgery. My son did bump my nose accidentally once while I was getting him dressed and I swear I could see stars circling my head like the old cartoons. No damage was done though, I was healed enough for the jostle not have truly hurt anything.

That's all I can think of for now. If you have any other questions, please ask away! I had a facial x-ray at the dentist a few weeks ago, and was so surprised at how clear my sinuses looked!
 

Circe

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A friend's sister had rhinoplasty a year or so ago, partially because of a deviated septum, partially for cosmetic reasons. I haven't spoken with her myself about this, but ... my friend says her sis has crazy pain tolerance. Like, shattered a bone skiing, didn't cry when they set it high. And after the surgery, she said if she'd had any idea how badly rhinoplasty would hurt, she would have passed bigtime. Hers' may have been different from the norm ... but it definitely made me rethink the possibility.
 

AprilBaby

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I had deviated septum done in 1996. It was day surgery. The worst part was the nasal tampons for 48 hrs. I hear they do things differently now!
 

Dandi

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Thanks so much for your replies ladies!

Monny, thanks for your post, I think the vast majority of people recover pretty well from this type of surgery, with the odd exception. Your friends' experiences are pretty ressuring, thank you! And yep, I'm in excellent hands, I do know that much!

NewShiny, that's fantastic, thanks heaps for your detailed account of your recovery. As far as I know I don't need a turbinectomy, but I figure that wouldn't add much trauma to the whole shebang, even if I did. I am used to not being able to breathe properly, I can't breathe out of one side at all, so hopefully the stuffy sinuses won't faze me too much. You poor thing, the thought of a toddler fist or foot smacking into a post-op nose makes me dizzy! I think DH can take care of that side of things for a while ;)) I'm intrigued about the pre-op vitamins, that isn't something I had considered. I will definitely ask the surgeon about that, thank you SO much!

Circe, wow! That's the first account I've heard of a really miserable recovery from nose surgery, I'll definitely pick that bone with my anaesthetist! :wink2: Thanks for your post lovey.

AprilBaby, yep you're right, the packs that are used now are partially hemostatic agents themselves, and in the OR we usually take them out of the patient's nose after about 2 hours, prior to them being sent home. Your post was actually very reassuring, if that was the worst part I'll be just fine I'm thinking, I'm used to feeling like there's a truck parked up my nose :rodent: Thanks heaps!
 

NOYFB

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I had rhinoplasty in 1998, for cosmetic reasons. My experience was different from others, as I went to a surgeon's clinic that was run out of his home, and had twilight sleep instead of general anesthesia. It was totally legit, I swear. Even Oprah had work done there. :lol: There was pain and swelling, and having the nasal tampons were the most annoying thing. I did have black eyes for the week that I was there while I was recovering, but was able to cover them with makeup for my flight home without people thinking my DH was beating me. LOL

Good luck with your surgery. I'm sure you'll be fine.
 

Dandi

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Thanks for that LM! Well if Oprah had work there I'd say it's pretty legit ;)) Thank you for the ressurance, I reckon all will be well. My caesarean recovery was a piece of cake, how much worse can this be?? :cheeky:
 

packrat

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JD had work done in...2007 I think. Deviated septum so he snored. Being a guy, things were "so" much worse for him during recovery of course, you know how that works.
 

Dandi

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Haha packrat, I'm hearing ya, sista!! :bigsmile:
 

kgizo

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DH had a severe deviated septum surgery last year and it went great. Minimal pain and very, very satisfied with the outcome. He did have the nose packs in for a week which was annoying. He was given pain meds for 7 days and took them for 1.5 days because it was more discomfort than pain. A friend suggested buying ice from Sonic (we are in the south) because it is pebble size and much better because it conforms to your nose and doesn't feel heavy like ice packs. He had so little swelling and pain he didn't need the ice. Good luck with your procedure.
 

Dandi

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Wow kgizo it sounds like your hubby had a great recovery! I hope to have the same experience, thank you for the reassurance! :appl:
 

Dandi

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Hi all! Just thought I'd update this thread, I had my surgery today and feel absolutely fine with zero pain (I'm still full of anaesthetic of course). The procedure took 3.5 hours, and the anaesthetic just felt like a sensational 4 hour midday nap - no postop nausea, and I woke up reasonably quickly. In all, a very good experience as far as surgery goes! Plus I had it done in the OR I work in, and was treated like a princess :bigsmile:

Thank you to everyone who wished me well and shared their experiences!
 

distracts

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So glad to hear the surgery went well!
 

canuk-gal

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HI:

Sounds like your experience was "so far so good"! Let us know how things work out.

cheers--Sharon
 

Texas Leaguer

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Our lovely Vera pointed me to this thread and said I might have something to contribute.

Background- lifelong sinus allergy suffer and athlete. Two previous broken noses playing sports. Rhinoplasty for the second one 30 years ago. A few years back I had severe congestion before an upcoming scuba diving trip. My dive buddy who is an anethesiologist was pretty sure I had a sinus infection and made me go to an ENT specialist so I would not have any problems pressurizing under water. Fortunately I did not have an infection, but the ENT reported that I had a severely deviated septum. I was puzzled because I thought I had that fixed! Anyway, he gave me some strong decongestant spray and it cleared up my short term problem. The diving was great!

Fast forward to one year ago. Playing shortstop in competitive softball I took a wicked hop right in the face. Nose broken in two places. ("softball" is a bit of a misnomer). I had three options: do nothing and have an offset nose on my face and probably an even more compromised airway, just reset the break and straighten the nose as much as possible, or do that and fix the deviated septum as well. I opted for the full menu.

I had a great young doc here in Houston, Chris Pritchard. I had initially gone to an urgent care clinic where I was given a CT scan and I was sent home with a dvd of like 50 images. Pritchard sat with me and explained everything he was seeing on the images and described what he would be doing. While doing this he asked me alot of questions about my allergy history. He noted that in one of my sinuses there was some tissue obstructing a little too much, which was consistent with what I was reporting to him about my "allergy" problems. He said he could open that up a little while he was in there. I said go for it!

The surgery was a breeze. As others have reported, the next few days was not so pleasant. However, I also only had to take pain meds for a day or two. The worst part was having the plastic splints in my nose to keep the septum straight while everything healed. Not pleasant but obviously necessary. As I started feeling better and the day approached to have them taken out, I started getting nervous about how the heck that would work! But my doc was great and they came out quickly and immediately I could tell that my world had changed!

Prior to the surgery I used to take over the counter antihistamines and decongestants on a regular basis for my "allergies". Since the surgery I may have taken a cold type medicine once or twice. And I have now been through both a Spring and a Fall which have always been my worst allergy months. And I can BREATHE like a normal human being for the first time in a long, long time.

I still actually do have inhalant allergies. But with a fully open airway it is only a minor problem. With a compromised airway a little sinus inflamation can shut you down and make you miserable.

Bottom line. DO IT! If you happen to be in Houston have Chris Pritchard do it. Good Luck!
 

Dandi

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Thanks distracts and canuk! So far so good indeed! :bigsmile:

Wow, Texas Leaguer, thank you for sharing all that with us! It sounds like your surgery was pretty life changing. I agree that the congestion is pretty annoying in these early days, but I'm no stranger to that! I don't have any packing or splints up my nose, that all came out four hours after the surgery. I just have a plaster stuck over the top of my nose, which I can hardly feel. I might become more aware of it as I regain sensation in my nose, but that's pretty benign in the whole scheme of things.

I'm in Australia and work as a nurse in the OR where I was operated on, so I was very choosy about my team, particularly the surgeon of course ;)) I'm very happy with things so far. Thank you for sharing your experience!
 

zoebartlett

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I'm so glad you feel well, Andi! I've heard it can work wonders.
 

Dandi

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Thanks Zoe! :wavey:
 
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