Day 2 - May 11th 2011

Woke up the next morning, with lots of bloody crusts [graphic] in my nose. Cleaning them using qtips and hydrogen peroxide was a little painful and gross. When you wake up in the morning, don't think blood-filled qtips is the first thing that you would like to see.

Today was also the day when I felt too stuffy inside the nose. Ok, so septoplasty was supposed to help me breathe better but here I was - day 3 post-op all stuffy and barely breathing through the nose.

Then again, the doc had advised me to breathe through the mouth. So maybe this wasn't abnormal.

So two things that I hate about this surgery -

1. I have lost my sense of smell right now. I just can't smell anything. Maybe, my stuffed nose has got something to do with it and maybe it will be better once it's all cleared.
2. I can't taste anything. Everything tastes bland to me. No taste whatsoever. Hot/Spicy/Cold/Salty/tangy...everything is the same.

Considering, what my nose and throat has been through, I am guessing this is normal. But it sure is annoying. (esp. to an indian who likes his food spicy and aromatic ;))

Oh, did I tell you, I didnt shower the first couple of days. Maybe it was good, I couldn't smell anything :)

This was just a precaution by me. 

Day 1-2 - May 10th 2011

As I have said before, I don't go to the doctor unless it is needed. To add to that, I don't take medications unless it is really needed. Was I in pain? Yes...a little. But, then again isn't that expected after surgery? Was it excruciating? No. Was it affecting me? No. I felt, I can live without the pain-killers. The antibiotics, were a necessity

Ate something light that morning. Watched some tv. The bleeding had drastically reduced.
I got a call from the doctor's office asking how I am felt?

24 hours post-op and the bleeding had almost fully stopped. It was so negligible, that I decided to stop using the gauze-sponge. I did keep one right next to me, just in case.

This was all quite a surprise for me. I had expected it to be all worse and as of now, it was as smooth as it could get. *knocks on wood*

Bloody crusts had started forming in my nostrils. Twice a day, I was supposed to clean them with qtips dipped in hydrogen peroxide.

Again I slept early. I think was more coz of boredom and probably coz of the anesthesia still lingering a little in my body. I was a little tired too. Didn't wake up a lot. Probably a couple of times but that's about it.

Absolutely no issues so far

Day 0 - May 9th 2011

By the time I got home after the surgery, it was around 6pm. In a way it was good, I didn't have to stay awake for long. I was pleasantly surprised that there was no pain whatsoever. Yes, maybe the pain-killers were suppressing it. There was some bleeding from the nose and I had the gauze-sponge under my nose to cover the dripping. Per the instructions, I was supposed to change it every 20-30 mins.

gauze sponge and the thing to hold it under the nose

It wasn't bad at all.

There was slight pain in my upper jaw/teeth section but it was negligible. Then again, I have heard a couple of times from different doctors that I have high-pain quotient. So, maybe I didn't feel it that much.

The worst part of the whole ordeal was the dry/scratchy throat. The anesthesiologist had warned me about it. There was nothing I could do about it. I kept drinking water hoping that it would go away.

Couldn't eat much that night and when I went to sleep, I started experiencing a little bit of pain in the nasal region. The doctor had prescribed me pain-killers and antibiotics. I took one pain-killer and went to sleep.

Sleep Upright after Surgery

Now, sleeping after this surgery is an art in itself. (atleast for the first couple of days)
This was how my bed looked for the 1st couple of days.

Went to sleep around 10.30pm. Within 15 mins, woke up with the realization that my drip-pad was filled with blood and i had to change it. Changed it, went back to sleep and got up again in 15-20 mins for the same reason.

Luckily that was the end of that. The bleeding decreased. I did wake up atleast 3-4 more times with the pad soaked in blood, but it was in a span of 2+ hours. I have read horror stories about people not being able to sleep but it wasn't the case with me. Yes, I did wake up every couple of hours but I did sleep like a baby in between.

Woke up around 7.30 am next morning.

• No pain
• No dry throat
• Little bleeding and
• lots of time to spare :)

Day 0 - Surgery - May 9th 2011

A week before the surgery, you have a pre-op meeting with your surgeon. Make sure you have a list of questions to ask him/her. Questions may include - dietary restrictions, activity, prescriptions etc. I would skip that part and directly come to the day of my surgery.

So, I was scheduled for my septoplasty and turbinate reduction surgery at 2.30 pm on Monday may 9th. I could have gone to work during the day but decided to take the whole day off.

I was instructed not to take any food/drink after midnight. Yes, that included - no water. I spent the morning, not thinking about the surgery. Surprisingly, I wasn't scared. Maybe, all the research I had done, had paid off. As I will be drowsy after the surgery, I would need a ride back.

Me and my friend reported to the facility at 1.15pm. Checked-in and was taken into an admission room. The nurse checked my height, weight, blod pressure, asked the standard questions related to allergies. Then I was put on IV for about 45 mins or so.

In the mean time, the anesthesologist came and spoke with me and then the surgeon stopped by too. At about 2.45pm, two nurses wheeled my bed into the surgery room (operation theater). I passed the surgeon on the way and he gave me a thumbs up. :)

Within a couple of mins and i dont remember how it happened. But I pretty much dozed off. From what my friend told me, I was in the operation room from 2.45 to 4.15 at which point I was moved back to the recovery room.

The next thing I remember, I wake up. A little pain in the upper jaw, very very dry throat and zonked. No idea whats happening around me. Nurse got me water and called my friends over. The doctor stopped by, told me everything went smooth. I was wheeled into my friends car and were good to go home.

Recovery phase now!

Some Basic Information About Septoplasty

Here is a quick bulleted list of information I found on the internet about septoplasty:

• Septoplasty is done at an out-patient facility and you are sent home the same day.
• The surgery is done under general anesthesia.
• The surgery in itself takes about 45 min - 1 hr (not counting the time spent in the recovery room)
• Cartilage from the septum maybe trimmed, reshaped or removed during the surgery.
• Incisions are done inside the nose. There will be no scars or swelling on the outside.
• You are not supposed to eat anything at-least 12 hrs before the surgery (I believe this goes for any surgery)
• Splints are inserted into your nose after the surgery, to keep the septum intact. These splints are removed about a week after surgery.
• You are advised to breathe through your mouth during the first few days after surgery.
• You will experience dry/scratchy throat coz of breathing through your mouth.
• You are advised to sleep upright (eg: on a recliner) for the first couple of weeks.
• You are advised not to bend to lift anything from the ground. Head should be above your waist.
• Your nose will bleed for the first day or two.
• No physical exertion for one week. No exercises for 2-3 weeks.
• 
  
• Smoking during the recovery process might lengthen the recovery process.

Consultation with the Otolaryngologist

So, after waiting for a month, I finally had my first meeting with the doctor. It was a pretty routine visit. He asked me questions about my nose, explained to me what the surgery will be like and how I will benefit from the surgery.

Diagram depicting how my septum was deviated

He also said, that 'septoplasty' will be covered by the insurance where-as rhinoplasty (cosmetic) won't be. 'Septoplasty' would take care of all the breathing problems but from the outside, there will be no visible difference to the appearance of my nose.

He also reiterated that, if at all I am even considering rhinoplasty, it is advisable to perform both the surgeries at the same time. His fees, facility fees, equipement fees will be reduced. Plus there was some medical benefit of doing both at the same time.

In the end, he told me that I can live without going through septoplasty. I have had this for ~15-20 years without any issues, chances are there won't be any issues going forward. At the same time, if I do go through septoplasty, I would greatly improve my breathing and would feel a lot better. So basically, the surgery is NOT necessary but is advisable.

Showed me his resume. Some before - after pictures of his patients and left. He told me to sleep over it. Speak with my family and friends and then give him a call back.

I was scared. I have never been through any surgery before and had a decision to make. I came back home and it was time to google again :) Read a lot of stories. Pros/Cons, how painful it is, risks involved and much more.

After speculating about it, for 4-5 days, I finally made up my mind. Called the doctor and told him, that yes I want to go ahead with the septoplasty surgery. Although, I wanted to go through rhinoplasty as well, I don't think I was in a position to afford the ~$4-6K medical bills associated with it. So, I secretly hoped that my nose might look a little less crooked just after the septoplasty.

Then again, I am an engineer. When we build/repair stuff, we give more importance to function of the device than the form/appearance. I decided to do the same to my nose :)

The next steps were simple: -

• The medical facility submits documents to the insurance provider for approval.
• My insurance approves the procedure
• We set up a date for the procedure.

The date was set to 9th May 2011. I had about 1.5 months time before the surgery.

How It All began?

To start with, let me introduce myself. Hi, my name is Ed and I am a 30 yr old male living in USA.

Don't know how it happened, but I have had a severely crooked nose. Don't remember going through any trauma during my childhood but as far as I remember, it's been crooked for the last 15-20 yrs.

The last 18 months, I observed that the septum became more concave-ish to the right and I thought it was time I showed it to a doctor.

Nose - deviated septum

Also, I am one of those guys who hate going to the doctor unless it is absolutely necessary. I read about deviated septum,symptoms, surgery types - septoplasty, rhinoplasty, etc...and luckily I wasn't experiencing all of them but still thought, it was time.

During my yearly physical in February, I asked my PCP, if she thought whether the deviated septum was affecting my breathing in any way. She took one look at both my nostrils and came to the conclusion, that my right nostril was severely blocked by the septum. She referred me to a specialist (otolaryngologist) 




Unfortunately, I had to wait 1 month to get an appointment with the otolaryngologist and I'll talk in detail about my 1st appointment in the next post.