Septoplasty in 5 days - any advice?

[party_yeah]

I'm due to have a Septoplasty in 5 days and am feeling a bit nervous. I'm not sure what to expect recovery-wise, but am praying that it will be a fairly speedy one. It would be great if anyone could give me some advice or share their own experiences!

[ojread2]

It's been quite a while since I had mine done
My nose was packed with gauze and the worst thing about having the whole thing was removing that gauze. It didn't hurt but the feeling when it was removed was horrible - I can feel it now and it's making me sneeze! I didn't have a splint either
I had no pain relief whatsoever but had to wear a little thingy under my nose to catch the drips of blood - attractive, not lol. I also had to stay in doors for a number of days

I'm not sure that the nose is packed nowadays - as I said, it's been a lot of years since mine was done although I imagine the way it's done is very similar.

Mainly I wanted you to know it was not at all painful

I'm sure yours will go fine and the surgeon will tell you what is going to happen

[daffy654]

I had my septoplasty a few years ago now and I have to say I did not enjoy the experience at all! lol

I reacted badly to the anaesthetic (asthma attack and very rapid heart beat) and had to stay in overnight. My nose was incredibly sore but using the nasal douche the hospital gave me was quite a relief as it removed all the scabs that had formed.

A couple of weeks after my operation my septum actually collapsed and I have had a very large hole right through it ever since. I refuse to go back for a revision because of all the problems I have had.

My experience is in the minority and I'm sure yours will be totally different :)

[237SJ]

Mine was years ago too. I expect they have honed the proceedure a bit since then. I woke up with rubber splints either side of the septum and gauze packing which was soaked in an iodine solution. When they took the gauze out they gave me a painkilling injection in my thigh. It wasn`t particularly painful. I didn`t react to the anesthetic and I didn`t particularly bleed afterwards. I went back to have the rubber splints taken out several days later. It hurt but it was very quick. I had a couple of other things done at the same time but the pain I mainly remember was from my nose being so stretched with the packing. I got "cold feet" when the surgeon came to see me and asked if I really had to have it done. He was a brusque Yorshireman and said "Young lady, don`t think for one minute we would do an operation in this hospital which wasn`t absolutely necessary". That told me!

[party_yeah]

Thanks guys! Wow, such contrasting experiences - do you think age has anything to do with the recovery process?? Did your nose look different afterwards?

[bednobs]

my husnand had it done a few months ago, with a revision a few weeks ago. the pain wasn't too bad, but he felt like he had a heavy cold for 2 weeks. the one a few weeks ago he had this plastic thing up his nose to prevent scar tissue but sneezed it out after 3 days!

[Sqad]

Depends on the surgeon and his technique.
General anaesthesia if in the UK.

Procedure will take about 30-40 minutes depending on the surgeon and degree of obstruction.

You may or may not have packs in your nose......if so they should come out painlessly within 24 hours....... depends upon the surgeon.

You may or may not have plaster of Paris on your nose for one week, depending upon technique of the surgeon.

You nose will feel more blocked than before the operation for at least 2 weeks.

That's about it folks!

[SMP]

My daughter had this done 5 weeks ago along with her sinuses washed out. Was done as a day case, dissolvable gauze packing was used. She was given otravine to use for 7 days and sterimar nasal spray. Needed strips of gauze under her nose for first 5days or so due to bloody mucus.
Unfortunately she has been in pain ever since having it done. Has had 4 lots of antibiotics and 1 lot of steroids. Sinuses extremely painful. Burning pain in nose. Ears not venting properly. Cannot smell or taste food.Seeing consultant next week for review. I feel so sorry for her. Has had problems with her nose for so long and they only found she had a deviated septum last year. Like Daffy my daughter's experience is probably in the minority,I hope everything goes smoothly for you and you have a quick recovery time.

[ojread2]

my nose didn't look wildly different as it was the very top that was altered - it bent over to one side almost completely blocking one side of my nose
My surgeon also removed some polyps
I knew there was a slight improvement in my nose on the outside, but it still had a bump in the middle :)
I did notice the huge improvement in my breathing afterwards though