does surgery for deviated septum help?

This question is for those of you who have had undergone a septoplasty. Ages ago, I experienced two head-to-nose collisions in a single junior high flag football game, jumping back into the game each time after the bleeding stopped. I wore the bloody t-shirt proudly but, not surprisingly, my ma wasn't impressed. The net was a broken nose that the family doctor deemed too minor to fix.

Fast forward about 50 years and I my right nostril is nearly fully blocked. If I stretch it out manually, the airflow improves significantly. I'm contemplating getting a septoplasty, but my primary doc says that it's likely any benefits will be short-lived, because the cartilage and nasal tissues will shift back into the previous position. Bummer.

Was that your experience? What other complications, if any, did you have? Did the surgery improve the effectiveness of your PAP therapy?

Thanks in advance for your contributions!

Cheers,

MC

I've not myself, but I've heard of people that have and have had success (with and without PAP). I fail to see how if performed correctly it COULDN'T benefit you, I find what your doctor claims to be questionable. If you have a nostril that's entirely blocked, that's in respects a 50% restriction in airflow, how could improving that NOT help?

You need to see an ENT specialist. I had a septoplasty done about twenty years ago and it has never grown back. It made breathing through my nose much easier. I had turbinate reduction done at the same time.

I had the septoplasty about 8 years ago...I had not had breathing problems before the surgery, so it made no difference after. As far as SA is concerned, for most people, it may improve breathing, but if your airway is narrow, the only noticeable improvement in CPAP therapy may be the need for a lower pressure.

thx Okie and LSAT.

MC

My septoplasty was done 30 yrs ago combined with a small amount of cosmetic work. There was a severely deviated septum.
Like you, I lived with almost totally blocked nostril for many years.

After the surgery the amount of air available to me was amazing. WOW! 30 yrs past and no cartilage or nasal tissue shifting anywhere. No problems there.
Seems that all of our bodies shift over time when gravity calls

Might be good to see an ENT or surgeon before deciding. There are no doubt newer and even better methods now. My biggest problems were hiding my two black eyes
and sleeping in a recliner for a few nights as ordered My cpap therapy began just 9 yrs ago, but not because of nasal problems.

Good luck

mrcrayola wrote: ↑

Sat Jun 09, 2018 9:23 am

I'm contemplating getting a septoplasty, but my primary doc says that it's likely any benefits will be short-lived, because the cartilage and nasal tissues will shift back into the previous position.

Gramps calls BS. He had the surgery 30+ years ago and the benefits are still there today. No side effects after healing. Plus, surgical methods and healing is so much easier now. See an ENT not a general practitioner.

I had a septoplasty and turbinate reduction last August. I am AMAZED how much airflow I now have! I can actually breathe and get enough air without having to gasp for air through my mouth. As far as apnea, it makes it easier to use a nasal pillow or nasal mask, but it doesn't really help as far as airway collapse. That said, breathing is awesome!

Just curious- this doctor who opposes septoplasty: is he in an HMO?
Or are you on Medicaid?
Either could press you into sub-par treatment--unless you FIGHT for it.

I had two failed attempts with CPAP in 2003 and 2008. I could never get over the feeling of suffocation exhaling against the pressure and would either consciously or unconsciously take the mask off in the middle of the night. By 2014 I was so miserable from sleep deprivation I had made up my mind to have MMA surgery. This is a big deal if you are not familiar with the procedure. But I didn’t care as I felt like I was dying anyway from lack of sleep, nodding off on the freeway, GERDS, hypertension, etc.

Before insurance would pay, I had to satisfy the Stanford protocol which started with an upper airway evaluation. I was diagnosed with a deviated septum and offered surgery. I had always sort of wanted rhinoplasty, so I had a double board certified OTO/Plastic surgeon do it and kill 2 birds with stone. She also did bil turbinate reduction and a sleep endoscopy, which ruled me out for any further throat surgery as it showed I had complete concentric tracheal collapse. So with a new nose, the next step in the protocol was to give CPAP one last try for 60 days and when I failed (which I absolutely expected) I could get the MMA.

Thing is, with my new nose, I slept all night with the PAP and felt amazingly different right away. The first weekend night I could sleep in, I stayed on the PAP for 11 hours and felt better in the morning than I could ever remember feeling. During the day I was breathing easier. I had no idea how stuffed up I was until the surgeon fixed my nose.

3.5 years later I’m still on the hose and still sleeping well. I don’t leave home without my machine. And I didn’t have to have half my face cut off and reattached to achieve success. The nasal/sinus surgery enabled me to successfully use PAP and solve my sleep apnea, which I truly believe has saved my life.

cpapmoma1 wrote: ↑

Sun Jun 10, 2018 3:08 pm

My septoplasty was done 30 yrs ago combined with a small amount of cosmetic work. There was a severely deviated septum.
Like you, I lived with almost totally blocked nostril for many years.

After the surgery the amount of air available to me was amazing. WOW! 30 yrs past and no cartilage or nasal tissue shifting anywhere. No problems there.
Seems that all of our bodies shift over time when gravity calls

Might be good to see an ENT or surgeon before deciding. There are no doubt newer and even better methods now. My biggest problems were hiding my two black eyes
and sleeping in a recliner for a few nights as ordered My cpap therapy began just 9 yrs ago, but not because of nasal problems.

Good luck

My experience was very similar to CPAPMAMA's. I had the septoplasty in addition to UPPP. I think the septoplasty was much more helpful than the UPPP; however, it was not a cure and it didn't lower the severity of my OSA. What it did do, was make it much easier to breathe through my nose during the day and lowered my CPAP pressure from 13 to 9 which made a HUGE difference in comfort while using CPAP.

Thanks, all. Sorry for the late acknowledgement. Launching a business startup is all-consuming! Chunkyfrog, no, this is my GP on regular insurance. He's been my doc for ages and, other than his over-reliance on Zyrtec as a cure-all (along with useless steroidal nose sprays), he's been pretty good.

Mr. C

So mrcrayola, what did you ultimately decide to do ?


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When I was diagnosed with a deviated septum I was advised that the only possible treatment was surgery. However, the side effects of the surgery are apparently pretty bad so the advice given to me was that it would be better to live with the deviated septum than to have it operated on. Ultimately, therefore, I think it comes down to a question of whether the side effects would be better or worse than the status quo.

I couldn't breathe through my right nostril ( unless I pushed hard on my nose to open it up a bit...) so I simply breathed through my mouth most all of the time. For decades.

Your Doctor scares me.

Just get it done. It is amazing to be able to breathe better! Mine is several years old and doing fine. If not, I would do it again....and again.....