Deviated Septum

I had this done last year. It worked great but I would highly recommend only having it done at Mass. Ear and Eye Infirmary (part of Mass General) in Boston. They are one of the top-rated sinus hospitals in the country and my friends have had horrible experiences at other places.

It took me a full week before I was up to doing anything other than lay on the couch, so plan accordingly!

I had a deviated septum and my sinus cavities cleaned out last year. I didn't expect the recovery to be that bad and unfortunately, I was wrong. It took me about a week to be able to watch my kids for the whole day and be back to regular "mothering" duties. I know of people who just had the deviated septum done and it wasn't as bad (they were out of commission for 3 or 4 days)- so maybe yours won't be as bad since they are not doing work on the sinus cavities. But my advice is to line up child care for the week if you can. The good news is that I haven't had any sinus problems since the surgery - it worked great!!!! Good Luck!!!

Hi K.,
For what it is worth, I had surgery on a deviated septum when I was 16. It was very painful for at least 24 hours after I woke up from the surgery. Having the dressing taken out was the worse. But I don't think it took a really long time after that- a few days maybe. But my surgery didn't last "the cartiledge has memory" and returned to blocking it some. But it sounds like you are having additional surgery for your nostril so it will probably be a different experience and I had my surgery over 20 years ago. Let's hope they've perfected it by now. Good luck.

My brother had his devated septum fixed due to breaking his nose more than once. It worked very well for him. However keep in mind it is a very painful procedure (post surgery)& he ended up with 2 black eyes. But that is what pain meds are for & later he was back to normal.
But one bad think about sinus surgery is I knew 2 woman who both had it done. They kept getting sinus infection after sinus infection for years & finally decided to have the surgery. It did not work for either one of them & they still have problems. I almost had to have it done for the same reason but once I changed jobs & moved from my home the sinus infections went away & I did not have to have it done.
But good luck, I say if you are in that much pain go ahead with the surgery with a positive attitude & pray it works. I am sure for you it will. Good luck.

Hi K.
i cannot speak from experience, but my husband had the procedure 4 years ago, and the first 24 hours were absolutely miserable! Until the packing comes out at the next MD appt, you can breathe only thru your mouth. Also, the swelling and bruising are prize fighter worthy! BUT, it all goes away in a few short weeks, and the results are worth it! My husband has fewer headaches, less sinus congestion, is less tired, snores less, and looks great (his nose was so crooked from being broken and never reset). GOOD LUCK!

I haven't had it, but I have two friends who had it, although not with the nostril reconstruction. If they're going up into your sinuses as well, the worst part (I'm told) is when they take the packing out. There's a lot of it, and it goes way up there. Ask about it, because both of my friends were not told about this part, and it was far worse than the initial 4-5 days of recovery. I also have a lot of friends who have completely avoided this surgery by using a fantastic nutritional supplement - 6-8 weeks tops, and they canceled their surgery. The doctors were skeptical but then again, they know a lot about surgical solutions and very little about food science. Don't know if it would work in your case, but it might be worth investigating. Let me know if you want more info. If you go for surgery first, get a top surgeon and at least a 2nd opinion.

I had a severely deviated septum too. The surgery was quick and I used only 800mg Motrin for the pain--the prescription stuff made me sick. The drainage down the back of my throat didn't help much either. I laid on the couch for 3 days and by the fourth--when I had to go get the stitches and internal splints removed, I was well on my way back to normal. The hardest part of the entire process was removing the tampons--yes, I said tampons! They pack one in each nostril and tape the strings to your cheeks--they call them "kitty whiskers"!! Medical humor leaves a little to be desired. Removing the tampons was rough. I recommend being a little medicated before you do it. Try to get soemone else to handle things around the home and just focus on yourself. Hope things go easily and pain-free for you.

Hi K.,
I had this surgery done a couple years ago. I do NOT recommend walking around AT ALL or the first couple of days. My nose would start bleeding every time I took more than a few steps. You will need someone to wait on you hand and foot for a few days. The pain will last for a couple o weeks but nothing the meds can't handle, but they do make you sleepy.

You will not be able to do mom duty so you will need a ull time mom replacement (or dad) or the first few days. I recommend following the length of time and lifting restriction given, I found out they are there for a reason.

The most painful moment was when the inital pain medication from the hospital wore off about 4-6 hours after surgery. I told my husband "if this is the pain I will be in I can't do this". But it was not like forvever.

GOOD LUCK AND FIND HELP! You don't want the kids jumping on your lap or bumping you.

I had this done several years ago and have never regretted it. I have had no further problems with my sinuses since; no mouth breathing, no stuffiness etc. The first week after surgery you'll be swollen and probably scare yourself when you look in the mirror HA!HA! but the swelling will go down and the pain if any will subside. After the surgery; when the doctor gives the okay, I suggest you stop anything that may cause your sinuses to dry out; allergy medicines are notorious for this, use instead a saline spray or gel to keep your sinuses moist; Ayrs - I think that's the spelling. Good luck and happy breathing!

I had my nose re-broken when I was 16. You will have black eyes and there was a lot of facial swelling and I didn't look so great for a couple of weeks.

You also have to be careful not to sneeze, they teach you to do it through your mouth or you can re-break your nose.

I am really glad I had it done in the end though, I can breathe a lot better, but it was a longer and more painful recovery than I had expected. I am not sure if it was because I was young, my expectations were a bit unrealistic. I didn't like to take pain meds, but I found that I had to for the first week or so.
The other thing that surprised me is when they took all the packing out of my nose, the size of the stuff that they had put in there! lol

I was a teenager, so I was embarrassed and stayed at home most of the summer as I didn't want to be seen like that. I can't remember exactly how long it took to heal completely, but I know at the end of the summer, I was fine.

Hi K.,

I had surgery scheduled for the exact same thing as you about a year ago. I was going to a chiropractor for my TMJ at the time and mentioned to him that I was dreading the surgery (it was to be in a week). He mentioned that he had many patients benefit from accupuncture so much that they did not need the surgery after all. He said it doesn't work for 100% of people, but he thought I should try it before going through such invasive surgery. To be honest, I was very skeptical about it. However, I have known this doctor since I was in high school - he is a friend, and I trust him very much. I figured what do I have to lose, so I called my ear, nose & throat surgeon and asked to have the surgery postponed for now. I told the woman at the dr's office I was going to try accupuncture, and she actually said "I don't blame you!" The accupuncture totally worked! I went 3x week for a couple weeks, then 2x, then 1x, it was very short term, and painless! AND IT WORKED!! I have not had a sinus infection in a year, where I was getting them about every 6 weeks. I now use the sinus rinse just to keep everthing clear. I would definitely recommend to you to try this method. It wasn't very expensive, and in the long run, I believe if you can avoid any surgery, it's well worth it. Just try to find a chiropractor or a licensed accupuncture therapist who specializes in this type of matter. Good luck to you in whatever you decide to do! **** P.S. Just to mention, I could never breathe out of my left nostril ever since I could remember - after 2 sessions of accupuncture, that changed drastically. I can now breathe out of both nostrils and don't feel like I'm suffocating if I breathe with my mouth closed!