Most people feel normal in 1 to 2 months. You will have to visit your doctor regularly for 3 to 4 months after your surgery. Your doctor will check to see that your sinuses are healing well. This care sheet gives you a general idea about how long it will take for you to recover.
You may experience a sore throat for several days after your surgery due to the breathing tube used during surgery. Limit your activity for the first week following surgery. Avoid bending at the waist or picking up heavy objects. Overexertion may result in bleeding.
Bleeding Could Occur (but Don't Hold Back Sneezes Either)Following a septoplasty procedure Los Angeles patients are typically advised to try not to sneeze for a week or so after having this type of surgery. If you do, you may experience nasal bleeding and/or pain.
After sinus surgery, it is normal to experience pain (usually a headache or a slight burning sensation in the mid-face region), nosebleeds, and bad breath for the first 24 to 72 hours. Less commonly, you may develop a black eye or have temporary numbness or tingling in the face or gums.
Nasal packing will make nose breathing impossible and an oral airway may facilitate mouth breathing.
Surgery involves enlarging the openings between the sinuses and the inside of the nose so air can get in and drainage can get out. It may involve removing infected sinus tissue, bone or polyps.
You will have to sleep with your head elevated for 24-48 hours after surgery to help the bleeding slow down and help the swelling resolve. Prior to surgery, set up your bed with at least two pillows so you can prop your head up at night.
After SurgeryBloody nasal drainage is normal after this surgery for 5-7 days, usually decreasing in volume with each day that passes.
Generally, a deviated septum that causes minor symptoms doesn't require treatment. But whether it's worth getting fixed is your decision. If your symptoms aren't bothersome and don't interfere with your quality of life, then the risk of treatment may be more than the benefit.
You may want to talk to your doctor about treatments other than surgery. But if your deviated septum blocks one or both nostrils so that it's hard or impossible to breathe through your nose, you may want to consider surgery. That stuffy nose can create a breeding ground for bacteria to grow.
10 Tips for Septoplasty Recovery
- Keep The Surgical Site Clean.
- No Sports or Strenuous Activities.
- Rest and Relaxation.
- No Spicy or Hot Foods.
- Slow and Easy Walks.
- Wear Contacts Instead of Glasses.
- Take Care of Your Body and Keep Hydrated.
- Change Your Routine to Avoid Strain and Stress.
You will probably be able to return to work or school in a few days and to your normal routine in about 3 weeks. But this varies with your job and how much surgery you had. Most people recover fully in 1 to 2 months.
As with any major surgery, septoplasty carries risks, such as bleeding, infection and an adverse reaction to the anesthetic. Other possible risks specific to septoplasty include: Continued symptoms, such as nasal obstruction.
Septoplasty is one of the most commonly performed otolaryngologic procedures to relieve nasal obstruction [1]. However, the success rate of primary septoplasty varies from 43% to 85% [2-5] indicating more than 15% of septoplasty patients fail to relieve their symptom.
We would request that the patient not travel out of the DFW area during the first 2 weeks. Instructions/expectations: pain: The pain following a septoplasty is typically mild to moderate and generally feels like a sinus infection, with distribution across the cheeks, upper teeth, around the eyes, or in the forehead.
There is usually little pain after surgery. If you experience discomfort, your surgeon may suggest over-the-counter pain medication, such as acetaminophen. People who've had septoplasty can expect very little swelling in the days after surgery.
After the packing has been removed, patients may breathe through the nose, but are not to blow or sneeze through the nose for 7 to 10 days. If the person must sneeze, they should open their mouth.
Dried blood in the nostrils may be gently cleaned and removed with a Q-tip. Vaseline or an antibiotic ointment may be applied to the inside of the nostrils and the outside incision if your physician specifies this. The Vaseline helps soften crusts and usually make the inside of the nose feel better.
Wet the nasal packing with cool water and begin to remove the packing by pulling on the string. Do not yank on the string. Remove it slowly, but surely. It may help if you pull the string gently side to side during removal.
Do not take a shower or bath for the first 24 hours after surgery. Return to the doctor as scheduled because if stitches inside the nose do not dissolve on their own, the doctor may remove them. Avoid people for a while to prevent catching a cold, which can lead to an infection. Stay away from dusty or smoky places.
An external nose splint is shaped like a trapezoid. The narrower end is placed across the upper bridge of the nose so that the wider end can cover the lower part of the nose.
1–2 days Your nose will feel sore, and much more stuffy than it did before the operation. Once the dressings are removed from your nose, you may still need to breathe through your mouth for a week or so. There may be some dark, bloodstained mucus discharge from your nose.
