Health difficulties can be diverse. So, for example, the curvature of the nasal septum only at first glance seems to be an insignificant physical defect that does not affect human life. Nevertheless, this phenomenon (whether it is innate or acquired) can lead to a host of other unpleasant consequences. Has your husband been snoring for years in a dream? Is it difficult for your child to breathe through his nose? Do you often have a headache? The reason may lie precisely in the deformation of the nasal septum. This defect cannot be fixed without surgery. It has a specific name - septoplasty. With it, you can fix a curved septum and permanently get rid of the unpleasant symptoms that have accompanied you for a long time. What is this operation? How is it tolerated by patients? What do they say about their feelings during the procedure, as well as in the postoperative period? How soon will it be possible to return to ordinary life? Can septoplasty be prescribed to everyone? The answers to these and some other questions are discussed in detail in this article.
What is it?
What is septoplasty of the nasal septum? Reviews and specialists define the procedure as a type of surgical intervention with the aim of individual correction of the nasal septum (namely, its shape). After such an operation, the patient no longer experiences difficulties with nasal breathing. Among other things, ENT diseases that arose due to a deformed nasal septum cease to bother him. Important! Septoplasty should not be confused with rhinoplasty. The shape of the nose does not change with the type of operation under consideration. The purpose of the procedure is solely the correction of the septum. However, these types of surgical interventions can be combined if there are appropriate indications for this.
Reviews after Septoplasty
Obviously, it would be unreasonable to agree to any treatment before finding out all the available information about this. It is important to find out what exactly you will have to face, how much money to plan, what alternatives exist, and whether additional difficulties may arise. As a rule, this kind of information can be learned only from those who have already undergone treatment using your chosen method. Only such an opinion can be considered reliable, because not all experts warn of the danger of interference (although they are required) and paint in all colors the unsightly sides of such a procedure as nasal septoplasty. Patient reviews in this case will help much more.
So what do patients say about the operation in question? For most of them, this procedure was the only way to correct the physical defect that so interfered with the normal course of their lives. As a rule, significant improvements become especially noticeable already in the postoperative period, immediately after the rehabilitation ends. Breathing through the nose no longer causes any difficulties, snoring disappears forever, a number of chronic diseases disappear, which were caused by deformation of the nasal septum (for example, sinusitis). According to patients, they did not experience any pain during surgery. However, if local anesthesia is used, you should be prepared for a crunch in the nose, the need to spend some time without movement and some other inconveniences.
Types of Septoplasty
The operation in question can be carried out in two alternative ways. This is an endoscopic method, as well as a method involving the use of laser technology. It would be wise to consider each of them in more detail.
1. Endoscopic septoplasty of the nasal septum
Reviews report that this method is the most popular among patients. The operation in question does not leave any visible signs of surgical intervention, since all incisions are made exclusively on the nasal mucosa. As a rule, the integrity of the septum is preserved in full, except in cases where the cause of the curvature was physical injury (in such situations, some tissue fragments must be removed). The operation itself takes thirty to forty minutes. The whole complex of measures, together with the preparation of the patient and the introduction of anesthesia lasts no more than one hour. Anesthesia, which is used during surgery, can be general, local or combined. Regardless of the choice, there will be no pain, judging by how endoscopic septoplasty is characterized by patients. Patient reviews suggest that there is no need to be afraid of pain. After the procedure, a short rehabilitation period necessarily follows.
2. Laser septoplasty of the nasal septum
Reviews often recommend this particular type of intervention as the least stressful for the patient. Obviously, in this case, a laser beam is used during the operation. During surgery, only local anesthesia is used. The whole procedure takes no more than half an hour. Its indisputable advantages over the previous type of treatment are absolute non-injuries and bloodlessness. Therefore, many people like laser septoplasty. The postoperative period (reviews make a special emphasis on this) passes faster than usual and, what is extremely important, absolutely painless. During rehabilitation, you do not have to lie in a hospital, as well as apply turundas (tight tampons that are inserted into the nasal passages). However, not everyone can choose the method in question. This is due to the fact that the procedure has a number of contraindications. Also, the method is ineffective in those situations when the curvature affected not only the cartilage, but also other tissues.
Indications
There are a number of reasons why experts recommend that their patients decide on an operation such as septoplasty of the nasal septum. Doctors' reviews are just a storehouse of useful information. There is information in them regarding the issue we are considering.
Doctors consider breathing difficulty caused by deformation of the nasal septum to be the main indication.
In addition, this pathology can cause many other unpleasant phenomena and diseases. Among them are:
- sinusitis (inflammation of the nasal sinuses both in the frontal part and in the maxillary sinuses);
- frequent severe pain in the head (although the curvature of the nasal septum can be only one of many reasons that provoked this condition);
- unpleasant noise that occurs during breathing;
- constant nosebleeds that occur for no apparent reason;
- severe snoring;
- swelling of the mucous membrane, which sometimes causes allergic rhinitis;
- constant exposure to a variety of colds.
Sometimes, it is because of the irregular shape of the nasal septum that the nose itself is deformed, and also humps form on it. In this case, septoplasty may become the only solution to the problem. The reviews (after the operation, many patients share their impressions on social networks and on thematic forums) contain information that the results of the procedure are simply excellent.
An important point is the fact that the cartilage tissue continues to grow and change its shape up to twenty-one years. Therefore, it is forbidden to conduct the operation in question for those patients who have not yet reached this age. Otherwise, perhaps in the future such surgical interventions will have to be repeated. Read the rest of the contraindications below.
Contraindications
Not everyone has access to septoplasty of the nasal septum. Reviews strongly recommend that you familiarize yourself with the existing contraindications to this procedure in advance. This will help to avoid any unpleasant consequences in the future. So, to whom is Septoplasty contraindicated? Feedback from experts allows you to fully answer this question. Surgical intervention is not performed in the following cases:
- in the presence of any infectious diseases (especially relevant in case of exacerbation);
- if the patient is less than twenty-one years old;
- in the presence of diabetes mellitus or any other disease that provokes a bleeding disorder;
- in the presence of cancer.
Cost
How much can septoplasty cost? Reviews are called different numbers. Obviously, the cost of the procedure to a large extent depends on how complicated the operation is, how badly the nasal septum is deformed, what type of anesthesia will be used, how much time the patient will need to spend in the in-patient department of the medical institution. The region in which septoplasty will be performed also plays a significant role. Moscow (reviews confirm this), for example, is a region where even a simple operation will cost an order of magnitude more expensive.
In general, if the curvature of the nasal septum is not serious and congenital, the procedure will cost the patient about fifty thousand rubles. If the pathology was acquired during one's life as a result of injuries, serious fractures, the cost can vary, and exclusively upwards, and even reach one hundred and fifty thousand rubles. That is why it is important to get all the necessary information in advance, in consultation with a competent surgeon.
The price that he will tell you usually already includes the following items:
- anesthesia to be used during surgery;
- the whole complex of preparatory examinations, which includes consultations of competent specialists, the necessary analyzes, etc.
- septoplasty directly (the cost of the operation itself);
- postoperative patient care (dressings, healing wounds);
- the duration of the patient’s stay in the medical institution (in the hospital during rehabilitation).
Operation
Before proceeding directly to the operation, the patient must be prepared. To begin with, the doctor will prescribe tests and several examinations. Typically, this list is limited to a blood coagulation test, fluorography, a blood test for diseases such as HIV, hepatitis and syphilis, an electrocardiogram, general blood and urine tests, a biochemical blood test, and consultation with an otolaryngologist.
How many stages does septoplasty consist of? Reviews recommend that you familiarize yourself with the progress of the operation.
The first stage is the comprehensive preparation of the patient. It is at this stage that anesthesia is administered. As a rule, septoplasty is performed under local anesthesia. Reviews report that some discomfort is still present, since it is impossible to abstract from what is happening.
The second stage is this immediate surgical intervention. The operation begins with the doctor making small incisions in the nose (namely, on the mucous membrane). After that, the surgeon is engaged in the detachment of soft tissues, removes the deformed parts of the cartilage tissue (septum). Then the doctor straightens it, moving the bone (or cartilage) fragments.
The third stage is the final one. All cuts are covered with special seams (they do not need to be removed further, they will resolve themselves). Gypsum or a dressing intended for it is applied to the nose. Then, turundas are inserted into the nasal passages (if endoscopic septoplasty was performed). Reviews report that they usually have to be worn at least twenty-four hours after surgery. Sometimes doctors recommend that you do not remove tampons for at least seventy-two hours.
What is the difference between laser septoplasty? Reviews talk about its advantages: outpatient care, no need to stitch and use tampons for the nose. Also, you do not have to spend a rehabilitation period in the hospital.
Rehabilitation
So, suppose you read all the available information about this procedure, including what they say about the operation called "septoplasty" reviews. After surgery, can there be new, unforeseen difficulties?
It is important to remember that the patient will no doubt need a rehabilitation period. Its duration will depend directly on the state of the particular person being operated on. But, as a rule, the rehabilitation period does not last long. In any case, this is how the testimony is called a “septoplasty” testimonial.
After the operation (within two to three days), the patient will be forced to use special fixing swabs for the nose. They are not too comfortable. In addition, all this time you will have to breathe through your mouth only. Due to the stress, the body can react with fever, severe headaches, and unusual dry mouth. Discomfort will pass soon after the patient gets rid of tampons.
Another unpleasant consequence of an intervention called septoplasty is called nose swelling. It also causes a certain discomfort, because it prevents breathing freely. All inconveniences, as a rule, disappear after seven to ten days after surgery. The patient is fully restored and can return to normal life within two weeks. Nevertheless, certain restrictions still remain. So, from intense physical exertion will have to abstain for at least another month.
Complications
Septoplasty is a very simple operation, so the likelihood of complications after it is minimal. Typically, patients talk about bleeding and infectious diseases that develop against their background. To avoid this, one should not forget that some medications can increase the risk of bleeding. Therefore, before septoplasty, it is necessary to consult a doctor and inform him about what medicines you are taking now or have taken shortly before going to the clinic. Very rarely there are cases of changes in the external shape of the nose or damage to nerve endings after septoplasty. In order to protect yourself from this, it is important to contact only trusted, highly qualified doctors who will not allow such blunders.
Conclusion
Septoplasty is an operation that has helped many times and for all to get rid of the onerous symptoms of diseases that cause the curvature of the nasal septum. Despite the fact that the procedure under consideration has enough evidence to be prescribed to thousands of people, it has a number of serious contraindications that can not be ignored so as not to cause even more harm to your health. Sometimes the consequences of an operation performed in the presence of contraindications can seriously aggravate the preoperative condition of the patient.
In pursuit of good health, try to maintain balance. This is not enough for many people today, because of which they make mistakes that harm their physical and emotional state. Do not fall into their number. Be always healthy!