Turbinate reduction surgery

Had Turbinate reduction surgery yesterday morning, the right side is fine but the left side feels numb from the nose to the check bone down to the upper left jaw and teeth. It feels like it does when the dentist gives a novocaine shot to numb your teeth.

Has anyone else experience numbness after turbinate surgery and if so how long does it last?

Dan

Got a call from the post op nurse today to see how I was doing, told her about the problem I was having, she relayed the message to my DR. to have him call me back that was about 5 hours ago, so I sent him an E-Mail, should be hearing from him soon. He is usually pretty good about returning your call or sending an E-Mail message.

I notice that when I do my sinus rinse the left sinus cavity doesn't seem to be draining, instead building pressure and causing numbness.

Well while I was typing this post my DR. called and he is going to get me in tomorrow afternoon to clean out that cavity. He said that some times when the turbinate is reduced, fluid can collect in the cavity and after the surgery blood or some debris is keeping it from draining properly. glade he returned my message with a phone call. Has anyone else had this or a similar problem?

Dan

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Third day after surgery, woke up with stopped up nose, first time that has happened since having surgery, both sides have been pretty clear after surgery. Got up, used a little sinus rinse than a couple shots of Afrin in each nostril. Can now breath through my nose. The left nostril continues to bleed a little bit, the right side is fine, just a little draining when using sinus rinse, Hope this all clears up pretty soon, having more problems than the first time I had nasal surgery in 2004. At that time my ENT used coblation to shrink the turbinates, worked fine until this year. My right nostril was becoming restricted again, so The ENT I am seeing this time around decided to do the section turbinate reduction surgery to bring about a more permanent fix. Will see him this afternoon to find out why I am having problems with the left side and discuss what caused the numbness to the left side.

Dan

Dan, thanks for sharing your experiences. I am thinking of having this surgery in the next year, so I'm grateful to you and others who have written about your experiences at cpaptalk.com.

Good luck and keep us posted!

Best,
Ron

roncron wrote:Dan, thanks for sharing your experiences. I am thinking of having this surgery in the next year, so I'm grateful to you and others who have written about your experiences at cpaptalk.com.

Good luck and keep us posted!

Best,
Ron

Ron best of luck to you too on your upcoming surgery. I'm having a little trouble with the left side, but the surgery went very well without any complications. I'm glad I had it done. I used to be a mouth breather 24/7, but now can breath through my nose very well. The bilateral inferior turbinate reduction will improve my chances of maintaining a clear nasal passage for years to come.

Dan

AFRIN is BAD even for a healthy nose!!!

didn't your doctor give you any advice about using that crap?

Afrin causes nasal tissue to swell even after only a couple days use, if you used it before surgery then after well right there is your problem.

USE ONLY a saline rhino rinse, that is salt and water with about the pH of eye tears. Unlike Afrin that causes nasal tissue to become inflammed where it swells, a saline rinse soothes and flushes out allergens sticking to the nasal walls which causes irritation and swelling, flush out the allergens tissue shrinks and you can breathe again.

you should ONLY be using a saline rhino rinse either mixed up yourself (salt and pure water) or in a aerosol can like Simply Saline. Non-aerosol saline rinses contain preservatives which in itself can cause irritation. Simply Saline is sterile solution in a sealed aerosol can so it needs no preservatives to extend shelf life with only air pressure to propel it out of the can.

You are going to ruin your nasal tissue using that Afrin crap and you will end up with dry nose syndrome which you will severely regret. If your doctor told you to use it he is a quack.

READ the side of bottle, it says not to use more than 3 days, it says that for a reason!!

Snoredog wrote:AFRIN is BAD even for a healthy nose!!!

didn't your doctor give you any advice about using that crap?

Afrin causes nasal tissue to swell even after only a couple days use, if you used it before surgery then after well right there is your problem.

USE ONLY a saline rhino rinse, that is salt and water with about the pH of eye tears. Unlike Afrin that causes nasal tissue to become inflammed where it swells, a saline rinse soothes and flushes out allergens sticking to the nasal walls which causes irritation and swelling, flush out the allergens tissue shrinks and you can breathe again.

you should ONLY be using a saline rhino rinse either mixed up yourself (salt and pure water) or in a aerosol can like Simply Saline. Non-aerosol saline rinses contain preservatives which in itself can cause irritation. Simply Saline is sterile solution in a sealed aerosol can so it needs no preservatives to extend shelf life with only air pressure to propel it out of the can.

You are going to ruin your nasal tissue using that Afrin crap and you will end up with dry nose syndrome which you will severely regret. If your doctor told you to use it he is a quack.

READ the side of bottle, it says not to use more than 3 days, it says that for a reason!!

I agree with you Snoredog, my ENT prescribed it to be used for a few days after surgery to help control bleeding but to discontinue once the bleeding has stabilized, the bleeding is now stabilized so today will be last time using it.

I have been using a saline rinse for years now and will continue to use it. I very seldom use a nasal spray, but when I do I use fluticasone propionate, generic for flonase for my allergies. I'm hoping that this surgery will eliminate the need to use any nasal sprays. I too heard a lot of bad things about Afrin, but it did control the bleeding very well while I used it.

Dan

I was also given Afrin to use by my ENT, but only for a few days. It does the trick while recovering from a turbinate reduction. Better to be able to breathe than not, though I would not recommend using Afrin for just a stuffy nose. It is addictive and has rebound issues.

Ted

Titrator wrote:I was also given Afrin to use by my ENT, but only for a few days. It does the trick while recovering from a turbinate reduction. Better to be able to breathe than not, though I would not recommend using Afrin for just a stuffy nose. It is addictive and has rebound issues.

Ted

I agree,

Ted did you have any numbing sensation on either side after surgery and if so how long did it last?

Dan

I had my turbinates trimmed years ago because I gave myself frostbite 30 years ago. Tried drugs at first but the sinus headaches were horrible. So the ENT Dr did an MRI and found scar tissue and a deviated septum. So we did it a few weeks later.

Helped a lot with the headaches for many years, although headaches were still an occassional problem. It was an experience though. I woke up in the last moments of the operation while they trimmed the last few and their packing of my nose. Heard the snip/crunch, snip/crunch, as they worked away.

After 3 days I went in to have the packing removed and the first one was fine, but the second nostril challenged the DR. He removed the packing and turned away to dispose of it, and while he did this, I felt this warmness start in the back of my throat. OHOH! I lean forward and the red stuff comes pouring out. All over the floor in front of me, I put my hand out just as he turns back to me, and he says, "Oh my, we have a problem" No doubt man. He hands me a wad of kleenex and says we have to cauterize the wound. The scab which had formed had been pulled off with the packing stuff. So he says, 'lean back I have to get back up there to see it', and each time I try I start gagging on the blood. Control, is what I needed. Had to whip my head back to get past the soft palate reflex and we got it done. But it all went well after that. So good luck, and don't be surprised by the things.
Lee

I didn't have numbness. but it was no walk in the park. Perhaps you have a lot of cruddy scabs way up in your sinus passages. The doc will reach way back there and pull them out. Mine were pretty big and disgusting, but I could breathe when they were removed.

Ted

Titrator wrote:I didn't have numbness. but it was no walk in the park. Perhaps you have a lot of cruddy scabs way up in your sinus passages. The doc will reach way back there and pull them out. Mine were pretty big and disgusting, but I could breathe when they were removed.

Ted

Ted your are right, just got back about a hour ago, DR. had to remove a lot of the gel packing and blood clots that were blocking the nasal cavity, a little bit of blood came out and after that the nasal passage was clear added a couple squirts of Afrin the bleeding stopped and the sinus cavity and nostril was clear. Will use the afrin two more days than normal saline sinus rinse, feeling a lot better now. The numbing sensation was caused by trauma to the nerve that runs under the eye over to the nose during the turbinate re-sectioning, he said it will come back to normal in a couple weeks after the soft tissue shrinks. He wants to put me on prednisone for ten days to speed up the healing process, not sure I want to do that, will see how things are going in a few days before committing to a course of prednisone.

Dan

Ted how long after surgery was it before you were able to go back on Cpap?
I think when I had my surgery in 2004, it was about two weeks, but this time around it was more invasive type surgery and may take a little longer. Hope not more than two weeks.

Dan

For me, it was as soon as I had the packing removed, or roughly about 5 days. Those were miserable days indeed. I love my CPAP.

Ted going back on Cpap that soon, were you still having some bleeding or nasal discharge? I'm on my 4th day and still have a lot of gunk coming out, most is dry and a little blood, did you have the same issue and did it cause any problems when going back on Cpap?

Dan