Turbinate Coblation Procedure

[newyorknative]

I have not written here in quite a while on this subject. I am interested in how people are doing one, two or more years after having the Turbinate Coblation Procedure done. On the internet you can only find reviews up to one year post surgery. I wont consider this procedure unleess I can get many years of relief from it. The Turbinate Coblation Procedure is the one usually done in the doctor's office and it takes about 5 to 10 minutes to do with a local injection.

[Alshain]

Well, I have no personal experience, but I am having this done in October. I was told it should last 3 years, but may need to be done twice because they are usually conservative about how much they reduce it. They would rather do it twice than take too much and really screw you up.

[newyorknative]

Let us know how you do after your surgery. I can't be the only one interested. Good luck.

[soundersfootballclub]

Well, I have no personal experience, but I am having this done in October. I was told it should last 3 years, but may need to be done twice because they are usually conservative about how much they reduce it. They would rather do it twice than take too much and really screw you up.

3 years? I was told it would last for as many as 10 years. Hmm. Had it done last October and it's worked out great so far in limiting my congestion issues.

[moresleep]

I had coblation treatment to shrink the turbinates in both nostrils - twice within about six months - about five years ago. I am still pleased with the result. I believe the main thing is to proceed cautiously and not go too far. You do not want to eliminate air resistance and end up with "empty nose syndrome."

[newyorknative]

I heard that with this procedure you cant get the empty nose syndrome. Also, which is important for me to know is could you breath through your nose the first night and if not could you have used afrin for the first few nights if necessary?

[Alshain]

I heard that with this procedure you cant get the empty nose syndrome. Also, which is important for me to know is could you breath through your nose the first night and if not could you have used afrin for the first few nights if necessary?

With THIS procedure it's rare for empty nose syndrome to occur. Older procedures where they cut out the turbinate ti was more possible, but now they reduce the size by extracting using a needle. Basically, they've improved it over the years and now it is much better.

[McSleepy]

I have described my experience here: viewtopic/t67818/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=59128&p=556233.
A few important points: 1) depending on your case, the most important part could be the outfracture - if your turbinates are mostly boney, have that done and you will be extremely happy, 2) do not fear pain, it is highly unlikely, 3) Afrin is evil, do not use it, ever, 4) even if it needs to be done again, as long as your insurance covers it, it's no big deal, 5) a CAT scan will tell you how much and what kind (soft tissue vs bone) needs to be done, if you can have one taken, don't hesitate to ask.
McSleepy

[soundersfootballclub]

I heard that with this procedure you cant get the empty nose syndrome. Also, which is important for me to know is could you breath through your nose the first night and if not could you have used afrin for the first few nights if necessary?

I felt like I had a bad cold after the procedure and couldn't breathe out of either side for about 5 days. Very little pain. I was told I could use Afrin for up to 5 days. I only used it for the first night. I couldn't use my nasal allergy meds and I wasn't allowed to sneeze or blow my nose until my followup which I think was about a week later.

[newyorknative]

Let me express my concerns here. The reason I ask all of you about using afrin for a few days, is that I can't breathe through my mouth any more. Once I got used to the cpap five years ago, when i get stuffy at night I just wake up out of breath. My mouth no longer opens subconsciously in the middle of the night like a normal person. In other words, I am completely screwed if I can;t breathe through my nose.

[moresleep]

If worried about breathing while healing, why not get only one nostril done at a time? This was actually suggested to me by the ENT. In the end, I elected to get both done at once, and was able to breath with some difficulty with the aid of a decongestant; but, one at a time is probably the safe way to go.

[McSleepy]

Let me express my concerns here. The reason I ask all of you about using afrin for a few days, is that I can't breathe through my mouth any more. Once I got used to the cpap five years ago, when i get stuffy at night I just wake up out of breath. My mouth no longer opens subconsciously in the middle of the night like a normal person. In other words, I am completely screwed if I can;t breathe through my nose.

I am exactly like you: I used to be able to resort to mouth breathing before CPAP but I eventually learned to keep my mouth shut (let's hope my wife is not reading this, she might take it the wrong way ) and whenever I had congestion in my nose, I would wake up suffocating. You can definitely use Afrin for a couple of days after the procedure, but you will need a lot of willpower to stop afterwards since you will have a rebound effect, i.e., after you stop using it, your nose would tend to be more congested than had you not used it. The risk is that it might lead to a vicious circle where the effect might be just enough to negate the benefit of the procedure. I had to go on a steroid treatment after my first procedure (but I had been using Afrin before that).
But, if your turbinates are mostly bone and your ENT can do the outfracture, you will not need anything - you will just walk out of the office breathing better than you ever had!
McSleepy

[McSleepy]

If worried about breathing while healing, why not get only one nostril done at a time? This was actually suggested to me by the ENT. In the end, I elected to get both done at once, and was able to breath with some difficulty with the aid of a decongestant; but, one at a time is probably the safe way to go.

I am surprised to hear the ENT suggested that. Of course, I would have no personal or scientific knowledge about this, but it would seem to me that any trauma to one turbinate could very well lead to swelling of the entire area and block the entire nose (remember, the septum is rather short and shallow).



Yes, those are mine (before the procedure), and I do realize people are different - just providing some information, for what it's worth.
McSleepy

[newyorknative]

Let me express my concerns here. The reason I ask all of you about using afrin for a few days, is that I can't breathe through my mouth any more. Once I got used to the cpap five years ago, when i get stuffy at night I just wake up out of breath. My mouth no longer opens subconsciously in the middle of the night like a normal person. In other words, I am completely screwed if I can;t breathe through my nose.

I am exactly like you: I used to be able to resort to mouth breathing before CPAP but I eventually learned to keep my mouth shut (let's hope my wife is not reading this, she might take it the wrong way ) and whenever I had congestion in my nose, I would wake up suffocating. You can definitely use Afrin for a couple of days after the procedure, but you will need a lot of willpower to stop afterwards since you will have a rebound effect, i.e., after you stop using it, your nose would tend to be more congested than had you not used it. The risk is that it might lead to a vicious circle where the effect might be just enough to negate the benefit of the procedure. I had to go on a steroid treatment after my first procedure (but I had been using Afrin before that).
But, if your turbinates are mostly bone and your ENT can do the outfracture, you will not need anything - you will just walk out of the office breathing better than you ever had!
McSleepy

McSleepy,

I am glad to hear that I am not alone with this situation. I wonder if you and I no longer needed CPAPS whether we could train ourselves to go back to the way nature intended us to breathe...as in thru our mouths when are noses are blocked!

[McSleepy]

McSleepy,
I am glad to hear that I am not alone with this situation. I wonder if you and I no longer needed CPAPS whether we could train ourselves to go back to the way nature intended us to breathe...as in thru our mouths when are noses are blocked!

This is a very complicated question and has been discussed here many times: once you have been on CPAP, can you go back? But I'm not sure if I'm understanding correctly your question, since you are talking about breathing through the mouth, while nose congestion (and breathing through your mouth) is not how nature intended it, and there are good ways to prevent congestion (the procedure referenced in this thread). The congestion (which I no longer have as a problem) is not the main factor for OSA, at least in my case, and in most other people's cases. The collapsing of the soft tissue in the larynx is my problem (possibly combined with some other factors) and is the most common reason for OSA. And CPAP is, for now, the most effective treatment. Opening the mouth with a CPAP on negates its effect, so it should not be desired. In fact, how to avoid that is a frequent topic here, and many people would envy you and me for not having that problem. Nose congestion reduces the efficiency of CPAP treatment and should be taken care of. I know things got much better for me after I did. As to being able to get off CPAP, that is a long and winded issue.
McSleepy