Rhinoplasty? Yikes!!!

Well...I had a follow up visit with my ENT today and it looks like the sinus infection I've had since January is finally gone. Yay! He took a culture last time. He also sent me for bloodwork to see if I had any other allergies except for dust and dust mites. Nope. So I said to him,"That's good news but why can't I breathe through my nose?" It turns out I have thin cartilage in my nose which collapses every time I breathe. Who knew? Now I have an appointment with his partner who does rhinoplasty. Apparently, the way to resolve this problem is to take cartilage from your ear and reinforce the cartilage in your nose. Hmmm...Has anybody here had this surgery? What was your experience? I've had another kind of sinus surgery but not this one. I am wondering if breathing properly through my nose will help resolve some of my other health issues. Maybe I'd even sleep better. Wishful thinking? What are your thoughts?

Rhinoplasty covers the whole gamut of a nose job inside out.

I should have done it to my nose some 65 years ago. My nose looks half as bad as the one on the left, and I could have changed it to look like the one on the right. It would have also improved my breathing thru it. It would have cost me around $1,000 at age 25:



My sister did it but her plastic surgeon was not first class and did not do a good job (she saved money).

If you wear glasses, make sure the surgeon knows how your glasses are held up.

Avi, can your sister breathe well through her nose? I'm a little concerned about this because, honestly, I don't think this is all that's wrong. I'm a little afraid it's along the lines of well we really don't know what's wrong with her so let's prescribe surgery. Won't know till I talk with the other doctor and ask a bunch of questions. Also, don't want change what my nose looks like. I like my nose.

Oh, bummer, Chunky, I do wear glasses. Maybe I should have him put in an extra bump after all so they finally stop sliding down my nose.

tuzacat wrote:Avi, can your sister breathe well through her nose? I'm a little concerned about this because, honestly, I don't think this is all that's wrong. I'm a little afraid it's along the lines of well we really don't know what's wrong with her so let's prescribe surgery. Won't know till I talk with the other doctor and ask a bunch of questions. Also, don't want change what my nose looks like. I like my nose.

Oh, bummer, Chunky, I do wear glasses. Maybe I should have him put in an extra bump after all so they finally stop sliding down my nose.

Please wait a couple of hours for me to find out.

In the meantime check this:

http://www.quatela.com/BecomeAPatient/P ... inoplasty/

Hi, I need more time to contact my sis who lives now overseas.
It would be helpful to know your age.

Be careful. My mom had a bad nosejob after a badly broken nose and the scar tissue highly contributed to her sleep apnea.

Reply from my sis:

"Regarding your question about the nose job. Mine was entirely cosmetic even though it freed passages in my nose. It was never recommended to me to do it for medical reasons. I have always considered the surgery a success in my life. It improved my looks and I never had problems as a result (in the bone or something). However, it did not prevent my suffering from sinusitis years later. Thank G-d this problems is not present in my life any more"

IMO, you need a plastic surgeon to shape the outside of your nose and don't let an ENT do it. These days plastic surgeons can show you options how your nose will look after the operation, and you decide which shape you like best.

I would be LEARY about a rhinoplasty being a cure for all your symptoms. Many insurance companies won't even cover it because it is considered cosmetic rather than medical. There are many other nonrespiratory conditions that can cause the symptoms you describe. Lyme disease, for example, could be a possible diagnosis. There are many autoimmune diseases that are difficult to sleuth out and are many times not considered. These patients go from doctor to doctor seeking relief and sometimes takes years to finally get a proper diagnosis and treatment. So don't let an ENT that itching to get out his scalpel unless he is convinced and can convince you that it will improve your condition.

You said all your blood tests were normal. What tests did they do? Just complete blood count (CBC) and electrolyte panel? Maybe liver profile? Obviously an ENT is not the best specialist to sleuth out what is going on. Your sleep study was inadequate to come to a diagnosis of sleep apnea. Many times that can mean that they didn't see enough events but you never progressed into REM sleep where most people have the most apnea events.

Well, I have been reading a little online about this surgery and apparently what they are talking about doing is not called rhinoplasty but has another name. The last surgery I had didn't really help but just made it more difficult for me to blow my nose.

Avi, thanks for contacting your sister. That was very kind of you!

Surgery seems to be a mixed bag, doesn't it? Not really expecting it to solve all my health issues but wondered it if would help if I could breathe better. Catbirdgirl, the scar tissue is definitely something I'm concerned about.

Viking, he took a swab to see if I still had a sinus infection. He also sent me for allergy blood testing. I had scratch testing years ago but he was looking for a bit of an update to see if he wanted to send me to an allergist. I definitely have sleep apnea. The first time I had the study my doctor said I was having 70 episodes an hour. I agree with you about hidden problems - it is immensely frustrating. I just did a 30 day parasite cleanse to see if it would help.

I was talking to some friends recently and asked them to take a deep breath through their noses. When they did the sides of their noses barely moved. When I deep breathe my nostrils kind of collapse inward. It's very strange.

Thank you so much for comments! My appointment is in a couple of weeks.

tuzacat wrote:Well...I had a follow up visit with my ENT today and it looks like the sinus infection I've had since January is finally gone. Yay! He took a culture last time. He also sent me for bloodwork to see if I had any other allergies except for dust and dust mites. Nope. So I said to him,"That's good news but why can't I breathe through my nose?" It turns out I have thin cartilage in my nose which collapses every time I breathe. Who knew? Now I have an appointment with his partner who does rhinoplasty. Apparently, the way to resolve this problem is to take cartilage from your ear and reinforce the cartilage in your nose. Hmmm...Has anybody here had this surgery? What was your experience? I've had another kind of sinus surgery but not this one. I am wondering if breathing properly through my nose will help resolve some of my other health issues. Maybe I'd even sleep better. Wishful thinking? What are your thoughts?

It is obvious if you sleep than you must say goodbye to many problems. I don't think there is any bad thing in rhinoplasty surgery if your doctor refer to the surgeon who does rhinoplasty surgery than he must seen any problem So I suggest you to follow your doctors advice.