Septoplasty and Turbinate Reduction

[SleepGuy]

When I was first diagnosed in 2004, I saw an ENT. He was way too eager to get me on the operating table to correct my severely deviated septum. It sounded horrible--I got out of that office as fast as I could.

Fastforward to 2011-2012 and I was miserable. Over time my blocked side resulted in chronic sinus infections and and it turns out that my good side was finally breaking down under the burden of carrying all of the load. So last month I trusted a very good surgeon to cut on me for about 1.5 hours. I could not be happier with the experience (all things considered).

For one, he used coblation as the cutting technique. That's an ultra high frequency saline solution cutter that also cauterizes tissues. There's very little blood with coblation. He was expert at correcting the septum through a small incision, removed a large concha bellosa (turbinate filled with air) on the bad side, and reduced the other turbinates. No packing. No splints. Recovery was surprisingly fast. And the pain was highly manageable--in total I took only 3 pills on the first and second days post-op. By the fifth day I was back on my Activa. I managed through the first five days of recovery mostly sleeping upright and using a FFM with acceptable results.

The best part is that since day 10 or so post-op I've settled into honest-to-goodness sleep with my Activa. I had forgotten how amazing it is to get consistent sleep!

So for anybody with sinus obstructions you might want to take a hard look at this procedure, even though it will likely not cure your apnea (mine involves my tongue muscle becoming flaccid and blocking the airway). It's been a very good experience and I am quite happy I did it.

[buntin]

I had the same thing done about 2 years ago and was able change from full face mask to pillows. I am very very pleased.

[chunkyfrog]

So glad you had such great outcomes.
Just goes to show how important it is to be very choosy about who does the cutting.
The difference between the Antwerp diamond expert and the drunken teppanyaki down the street.

[SleepGuy]

So glad you had such great outcomes.
Just goes to show how important it is to be very choosy about who does the cutting.
The difference between the Antwerp diamond expert and the drunken teppanyaki down the street.

Exactly. I was very careful about this. My brother had the same surgery with a rather different experience than me. My surgeon is sought out from a multi-state area and has particular expertise with inner-ear surgery using a microscope (most of his procedures actually). So septoplasty was a cakewalk for him. He hooked me when he said "I find that if I treat tissues gently then recovery is greatly enhanced." Imagine a surgeon talking about treating my tissues gently....I was sold and he delivered.

[2flamingos]

I had Septoplasty and other sinus surgery done between my sleep study and titration (don;t know what technique was used). My recovery from the surgery was a breeze - took one pain pill that night and one the next morning beforeI went to have the packing removed. No other packing, no splints, no nothing. Even the removal of the packing did not hurt - the anticipation was the worst of it.

Since mine was between study and titration I don't know if it would have made any difference in pressure, mask use, etc. I have been using nasal pillows from day one (with a couple of attempts at ffm and hybrid as I occassionally mouth breathe). I am one of those lucky folks that took to PAP (I use APAP w/A-Flex) like a duck to water - only remember one time that I woke up and found I had pulled my mask off. After a few months I stopped using the ramp feature.

I have only had one sinus infection since my surgery in 2008 - prior to that I usually had a minimum of 3-4 a year, and had been having them like that since I was a teenager (many, many, many, many years ago).

I frequently advise people that the surgery is worth it - it is not the same as the horror stories we all heard several years back.

[Uncle_Bob]

I had mine done but no idea which method was used. I did have splints but they were hollow ones with no packing. I did have an under nostril gauze but removed it after a couple of hours and had no drainage.

I did however experience exactly what my ENT told me would happen post surgery. When the splints were removed there would be a few days of nice clear breathing, good CPAP therapy etc. The there would be some swelling, narrowing of the airway for approx 3 months. So CPAP wasn't good during that time but eventually i got back to normal.

I wonder with the different cutting methods if there is any difference with the swelling?

~UB

[SleepGuy]

I am very happy to report that for the first time in years, I recovered from a normal cold in 3 days without it turning into a sinus infection! On top of that, a little Neilmes sinus wash followed by Afrin at night was enough to help me sleep through every night with just my nasal mask. This was the best "cold" experience I've had in years--I am very happy for having had this surgery!

[macewa]

I had these surgeries done March 2 of this year. I was so surprised at how quickly I recovered from it and the lack of real pain through it all. (and I'm older and was told it could take me longer to recover). Has it helped with my apnea? not sure, but I know I breathe better since out of 200% ability to breathe (100 per nostril), I only had 100%. I originally had pressure on my bi-pap of 23/17 and now at at 23/14. So, that helps me out a bit. I also get allergy shots and have been for about 6 months. (I'm allergic to everything outside and because of so many allergies they can't get my shot into one vial, so I get 2 shots when I go in.) I used to get extremely ill and end up in the doctor's office getting breathing treatments all the time. Am happy to report that I am 1000% better at this point. Also, I was against all of what I ended up doing and thank goodness I did it!