Submucosal Turbinate Resection...anyone have this done?

Well, during a visit to my ENT (per my Sleep Clinicians advice) to find out exactly what my obstruction is, I was surprised to find out what the answer was. I have my adeniods, he said (did a scope, yuk) but that isn't my problem. He said I have extremely enlarged turbinates. I didn't even know what those were. My deviated septum has also sunk back to the position it was in before I had surgery three years ago for a broken nose, at which time he straightened the septum. Apparently, it isn't uncommon for the septum to do this, and I already knew that.

But the turbinate thing I knew nothing about! He said that sometimes it's the tissue that is enlarged and sometimes the bones themselves are enlarged. In my case it's mostly the bones, and that between that and the deviated septum I am quite obstructed. He said that having this surgery should greatly improve my breathing, both night and day.

I spoke both to my Sleep Clinician (or whatever the sleep doc is called, sorry) and to my RT who both agreed that Turbinate Reduction is usually very successful. I am not afraid of surgery and am more than willing to go through it, but I have read a lot about this procedure and am aware of the risks involved with "messing around with the turbinates".

So my question is, has anyone had this done, or have the same problem? And was it successful if you did??

He also said that I do not seem to have any throat obstructions and that he doesn't recommend that surgery anyway because it is generally very painful and not widely successful, but that the turbinate surgery usually is very helpful.

So does anyone have any advice on this subject??

Thanks in advance!!!!!

I'm sure people who've had that done will reply soon.

In the meantime, check out some of these old links -- the "turbinate" topics have a lot of success stories.
LINKS to surgery, turbinates, Pillar, TAP experiences
viewtopic.php?t=2836


I think you got good advice from the doctor and RT:

mountainlvr wrote:I spoke both to my Sleep Clinician (or whatever the sleep doc is called, sorry) and to my RT who both agreed that Turbinate Reduction is usually very successful.

And I like it that your ENT is not a fan of UPPP (carving out the soft palate):

mountainlvr wrote:He also said that I do not seem to have any throat obstructions and that he doesn't recommend that surgery anyway because it is generally very painful and not widely successful, but that the turbinate surgery usually is very helpful.

Sounds like you're in good hands.

Mt Lover

Yes, as one who broke his nose at the age of nine (deviated and pushed-back septum and so forth), I had a tonsillectomy at about 12 and a submucosal resection at about the age of 22.

I didn't know it, but I had OSA since the injury. (It's in my family I've discovered, so the injury just gave it to me sooner. I would have had it anyway, most likely.)

Fast forward about 50 yrs, and I was dxd w OSA, and as I look back, I've had it since age nine. I'm sure that the surgeries helped, but not enough for my case.

If I had to decide on the submucosal surgery now, I would probably take it, not as a cure for OSA, but as a measure to help me breath more easily during the day.

Everyone's different. I had a good result, but not a cure (for a sleeping disorder that I didn't even know that I had.)

Good luck - - Capn M


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I've got the same issue, but it sounds like mine is from birth. My septum is deviated to my left, and my turbinate on the right is enlarged to fill the void.

SInce I haven't hardly been able to breathe through my nose ever, I never gave it much thought til I realized I had sleep apnea and saw an ENT last month.

She recommended getting the spetoplasty and the turbinate reduction, but suggested waiting until after I had my suspected sleep apnea diagnosed and treated. She also said that while she can make it so I can breathe through my nose, she doubted very much that it would do anything for sleep apnea. That makes total sense to me, because I can feel my throat collapse when I am on my back and relax my jaw/tongue. I know it's a throat issue, and the nose is secondary.

I'm still trying to decide if I want to have the surgery. So I guess I'll see what I think when I have apnea treated, but I'm leaning towards "no surgery". I'm so used to being a mouthbreather, that I'm not sure I will care once I have my sleep apnea symptoms controlled.

I had some resection and radiofrequency reduction. It worked great. I still use my cpap but have to put my hand in front of it to see it is working. Before it was like a wind tunnell. Hey, we all have some defects and with a good ent you can have a better life, mine is for sure. I did get my oversized tounsils out, that worked good too but hurt like hell. Any other questions you have I would be glad to answer. nate

I had it a couple of years back. I did not clear things out as much as I had hoped but before surgery I was not able to get enough air in through my nose to use CPAP. Now I can use it without problems.