Sinus Surgery - Dallas,TX

Hello,
I had to respond to your request and let you know not to worry at all!
I have had this surgery twice and it is pretty simple...I was worried too about all those things and was quite surprised afterwards to how good I felt. The first time my little boy was about 3 and I had no problem taking care of him and holding him. The first couple of days you are just really tired from being put to sleep, but as far as your nose it is really just alittle tender but that is about it.
You will feel amazing afterwards! One thing to remember, once you do these surgeries your chances for going back again are pretty good, so be sure and use the rinses everyday, it helps alot to keep them from getting impacted again. Also diet plays a big role. People don't understand how frustrating it is to be haunted with sinus problems, the one thing I have learned is I have to take care before they get impacted again. Sinus rinses daily and eating good (sugar is the worst).

Take care,

T.

Wishing you the best of luck with your surgery. While I don't have any expierence with that procedure- I do know what its like to not be able to hold your children after surgery and can offer some advice:

I was a nanny in college for a women with breast cancer, and she had multiple surgeries during that time which enabled her to lift her arms during recovery. Her youngest was 15 months, and would want her to hold him like she used to. If you can have someone there with you for most of the time in the beginning to hold your daughter for you, he actually was okay with me scooping him up everytime he reached for her. She would just pat is back or kiss his hands while I was holding him, so there was still some affectionate contact between them. I also recently had a baby - my son had just turned two, and since I had a c-section I couldn't pick him up for several weeks. I just asked that family and friends hold him for me, and again- as long as I paid him plenty of attention- he was fine. I just kept reminding him that I had a "boo-boo tummy" and he understood pretty well. I think sometimes they understand WAY more than we give them credit for, we as Mommies just get psyched out. Take care!

I just had the same surgery (with deviated septum repair) two weeks ago, and it's been the easiest surgery I've ever had. Maybe it's just that my doctor is fabulous, but I had heard mostly horror stories before I had this done. The first four days are the worst because of the packing inside. You are more congested than you've ever thought possible for those 4 days, but once the packing comes out, you feel so much better. I had to use sinus rinse 4x/day for about 10 days. I had a bit of a headache for the first couple days but not much pain at all. There was no bruising either. It took me about a week or so to get my energy back and I had a bit of trouble sleeping for awhile possibly from the anasthesia. The worst part of the whole surgery was when she cleaned my passages out with her vacuum 8 days later. She numbed me up, but I could still feel pressure and it hurt in my teeth. She told me to take a pain pill an hour before my appt. which I did. I felt that she told me everything to expect from the surgery, and for me, it was even better than she had said it would be.

Some people say your nose is really sore from the deviated septum for quite awhile, but mine is not. I work with children 3 days a week and am going back to work tomorrow. My nose isn't sore so I'm not that worried about getting bumped. Of course, I wouldn't want a major hit to it or anything.

I think that once you get your energy back you would be fine to carry her in the pack, however, my doc said no heavy lifting for 2 weeks. You can probably cuddle with her if she's not too close to your face.

Good luck and I wish you the best!
S. P.

I had that same surgery done in July 2005. It was the best thing I ever did. Recovery was a breeze, very little pain. In fact I only took tylenol after the surgery and that night, the next day I was fine. I didn't have any swelling and just by looking at me you couldn't tell anything had happen. You do have to be careful about touching your nose or bumping it...be extra careful around your daughter. Good luck, hope everything works out.

I have had 3 sinus surgeries in the past 2 years and one other to correct a deviated septum when I was a child. Your recovery should be pretty easy. Even with the most extensive surgery I had (which lasted 5 hours - much longer than expected), I was feeling okay in a couple of days. There were 2 things that were the worst part and they still weren't that bad. First, my throat hurt really badly for a couple of days post-op because of the breathing tube they use during the surgery. Second, I had some headaches for a couple of weeks afterward. They give you pain pills that take care of both those issues. My nose didn't really hurt that badly at all and the bleeding was minimal after the first day or two. You will be really exhausted for several days. The exhaustion was the biggest challenge for me having a small child, but your Mom should be able to help out while you get some rest. Good luck!

I have had sinus surgery. The surgery will last anywhere from 30 to 40 mins. You will have a piece of gaze taped to the holes in your nose when you go home. The pain was none for me. But if you need pain meds they will give you a script for it. By the next day, I had taken the gaze off and was doing the mixture of warm water with salt with the nose bulb (not sure what the name of it is)3 times a day. I believe it was one of the easiest procedures I have been through. I had the surgery on a Friday and was back to work on a Monday. Prudy easy, huh. You will do good.

A.

First of all,good luck on your surgery. I have had five sinus surgeries including repair of a deviated septum. The recovery really wasn't as bad as I expected. I did not have a lot of pain afterwards but I'm sure your doctor will give you something to control it if you do. My bad news is, it did not help at all.....if anything my problems are worse. Talk with others who have had this surgery. Surly it works for some people. I pray that you have more success with this surgery than I did.
B.

My husband had this done and usually doesn't deal well with pain. But his recover went amazingly well. Don't bend over, take the pain meds as prescribed(don't wait until the pain is unbearable),and follow all of the doctors orders. He is so happy he had it done and wished he would have done it years ago. He can actually breath through his nose and smell a lot better.
As far as cuddle time, I wouldn't worry too much about it. Just explain to her that you have a boobo on your nose and that she can lay on you lap or next to you. At almost 2, she should be able to understand this. If she starts getting up toward your face, just gently remind her of your nose and give a quick ug and kiss. Good luck!

Unlike most of the people who responded this was one of the worst surgeries I have ever had. I had a couple of sinus infections in a row and the doc sent me to a ENT. He said I needed surgery. I ended up having to spend the night in the hospital. When they took the packing out it felt like they were removing the top layer of skin inside my nose and it took a number of hours.
They didn't tell me about the saline wash(like the nedi pot) until after my surgery. I told a number of my friends about the wash because they were suppose to have surgery and they ended up not having surgery.
I don't think that many docs think to much about the causes for sinus problems and automatically do surgery.
I didn't have any sinus problems before this surgery except the infections that caused my doc to send me to the ENT. My daughter had just started school and we were constantly catching something new. I think these caused the infections. I have had sinus problems ever since the surgery and the doc wants to do another one. I think they just want to treat the symptoms and not find the cause.
Also be careful of your insurance. I had to fight to get my insurance to pay because they said it wasn't necessary even after I had called and gotten approval.

I had this surgery and it is not too bad, however if your child hit it it would be very painful. Get a Bulb syringe to suck the constant flow coming out of your nose. If they put the sticks in your nose it will cause a constant stream and it hurts to keep wiping. Ask your Doctor mine were in for about a week and I didn't get one for a couple of days but it sure made a difference when I started using it. Good Luck

I had it last March. You can't bend down below your waist. You can hold her, and unless your gettinga nosejob , all of the sinus stuff is internal. I had an active 18 month baby when I had mine. It is nothing to worry about, In fact, my doctor said I had the worst sinus blockage he had ever seen. I had barely any air passage. You will be fine. You can hold her. You just can't bend down. Recovery is fast. Good Luck!

I had sinus surgery on one side and the recovery was not too painful. The worst part was having to breathe through my mouth while the packing was in my nose - really dries out the mouth and throat. This is kinda gross, but when the packing came out and I was able to gently blow my nose, I think I blew out a cup full of yuck! It just kept coming. But it felt so good when it was out. I probably need to get the surgery done on the other side - the first surgery helped quite a bit. Good luck!

I've had this done twice and have a 22 mo old now and totally understand your concern. You might try putting a bandaid or tape on your nose and telling her that you have a boo boo. let her kiss it to "make it better". the best thing i had to help with pain/comfort besides the vicodin, was filling a latex surgical glove with crushed ice. lay the palm on you forehead then put a finger on each side of your nose. looks silly, but feels great and helps w/ swelling. i think a lot of my pain was gone after about 48 hours. i was younger and i college, so it seemed like forever. good luck!

I've had sinus surgery twice. The 1st time before my daughter was born the 2nd time when she was 5. Recovery was worse for the 1st one. I used a different Dr for the 2nd one, who used lasers and different packing material to seal off the sinuses. He is highly recommended- Dr Bates at Presby Dallas and Plano. Recovery was much faster. Lots of ice packs. I had surgery on Thursday and was back to work on Monday. You will have bandages on your nose. You will want to blow your nose but can't for a week or 2.

Tell her you have a boo-boo. Just like she gets and to be careful with her. Try to snuggle with her on the couch/bed,where she is on the side of you and not near your face.