Downsides to septum surgery?

[bluebanded goby]

Three out of four times that I've tried to [free]dive in the past few months I've gotten a splitting pain in my left eyebrow. The ear-nose-throat doctor says I have a deviated septum and is recommending minor surgery to correct it. Apparently my septum is S-shaped -- it curves one way at the front but the other way at the back, at it's toward the back that it impinges on the frontal sinus on one side.

On the one hand I'm told that this is a routine, very common procedure and is done on an outpatient basis. On the other hand I'm naturally conservative about any form of surgery and only agree to it as a last resort. We've already been through medications to try to manage the problem, without consistent success.

I'll grill my doctor further, but I'm curious if anyone here has any input on possible downsides to proceeding? I know that generically there are always risks in any surgical procedure (infection etc), but is this relatively rare in the case of septum surgery? Any horror stories of septoplasties gone bad? One co-worker told me that his wife went in for a deviated septum, and the doctor decided to make (unwanted) cosmetic changes to the appearance of her nose. Thanks for any input.

 

[BillP]

Doctor joke. Do you know the difference between major surgery and minor surgery? It's major if I'm having it, it's minor if you're having it.

Every decision in medicine involves balancing risks and benefits. As you've pointed out, there's risk with anything in medicine. There's risk to taking a Tylenol. Your liver can fail and you can die from taking too much Tylenol. The risk from taking a Tylenol for a headache is low, and the benefit of getting rid of the headache is high, so I take Tylenol when I get a headache.

Surgery isn't Tylenol. The risk is greater. But the potential benefits can be greater too. Don't make decisions based on horror stories. For every horror story you can tell me about someone who suffered terribly because of an action they took, I can come up with an equally horrific story about someone who didn't take the action.

Doctors will (or certainly should) explain the relative risks and benefits for a surgical procedure with a patient. Then the two of them balance thoses risks and benefits and decide whether to proceed. You're headed in the right direction with your questions. Keep talking to your doctor. Sorry to not be more help. Good luck with your decision.

Bill

 

[cougar]

No horror stories. I had surgery for a deviated septum about 1988. Not only did I have breathing problems, but I used to get KILLER headaches several times a week. Surgery was a peice of cake. Surgery on Wednesday and back to work Monday morn with no problems. My surgeon says that when he freed one end of the septum..it had been under so much much presure that the audible "sprong" back to straight startled everyone in the operating room. The side benefit...besides being able to breathe when I have a cold is that the frequent headaches vanished. However...I was told it wouldn't change the appearance of my nose...Not true. It's not like I look like Jimmy Durante....but it's not exactly the same shape it was pre-surgery.;-0

 

[bluebanded goby]

Thanks for the data point, Cougar. Just out of curiosity, can you say anything about how the appearance of your nose changed after surgery? Bigger? Smaller? Thinner? Different shape? Etc.
Thanks again.

 

[cougar]

Well...it used to be quite straight...now it has a little bump in the middle. People who didn't know me before don't see anything amiss. The first time my brother saw me...6 months after the surgery he said, "What did you do to your nose? People get nose jobs to straighten their noses, not add bumps."

It's not bad enough...and I'm not vain enough to worry about it...it just looks a bit different. Ask me if I'd rather have a straight nose or be able to breathe. Breathing wins out every time.