Anyone have experience or knowledge of sinus surgery?

[Asscherhalo_lover]

I finally have an explanation for my 2 years of sinus infection misery. My sinus CT scan revealed a deviated septum and sinuses fullof polyps. Sinus surgery is an option for me and I wanted to know if anyone has had this or has knowledge of the procedure. I am assuming I would also be getting a septoplasty. If anyone else has had sinus polyps, how did you deal with them?

I currently use the neilmed sinus rinse system and have been using flonase for the last month or so.

Thanks for your help, no one else I know has had anything like this

 

[tuffyluvr]

My best friend's BIL had surgery on his sinus polyps. He actually had to have the surgery twice, and I know that the recovery was long very painful, but he is much better now. He had terrible sinus pain and headaches, and since the surgery he lives a much more normal life.

 

[Dandi]

We do alot of ENT surgery at work, and from a surgical perspective, polypectomies and septoplasties are reasonably straightforward and quick, depending on your surgeon of course. Depending on how many polyps you have I'd say the operative time could be half an hour to an hour. You'll wake in recovery with a packed nose which is uncomfortable but shouldn't be painful, and if it is the recovery staff will treat your pain. Most patients I recover tend to complain of a moderate frontal headache post-op, but usually not much more than that. Some surgeons use dissolvable packing stuff, others use gauze that will be removed in the later days. One of my collegues has a septoplasty recently and described her post-op discomfort as someone having parked a truck up her nose She had codeine and anti-inflammatory tablets regularly at home, and was reasonably comfortable in the days immediately following her surgery, bar a bit of icky discharge from her snozz!

I'm sorry you've had such a miserable time, but I'm glad for you that there is a solution! I also have a deviated septum but unlike you I don't have polyps, so have elected not to have surgery. I cannot breathe much at all from my right sinus and get the odd sinus headache, but nothing like what you've been through for the last 2 years, you poor possum!

Good luck, and keep us posted with regards to how it all goes!

 

[QueenB29]

I had two sinus surgeries in two years. I don't remember what the procedures were actually called, although I didn't have any polyps or any need for any type of rhinoplasty. Mine were just too small and couldn't drain. (I had a lot of scar tissue from the first surgery, hence the second.) I still get frequent sinus infections, but the surgeries did help in terms of severity and length. I'm sure that in a few years, I'll need a third. (They usually don't last forever and it's now been ~4 years since the second.)

I have a very low tolerance for pain, and I didn't think they were THAT painful. (As long as I took my painkillers on time ) I was out of bed and moving around the house, sitting on the couch watching TV, etc after a couple days both times. After the first surgery, I was not prepared, however, for the follow up visit in which the ENT decided to rip scabs out of my nose. Ow. (Sorry if that's TMI.) I also didn't expect the massive blood clots or the headache that lasted for weeks after the surgery. (After the initial sharp pain from the surgery went away, I was left with a constant, dull ache that felt exactly like the chronic infection I had to have the surgery to clear up.) Also, I only took about four days off of work, which turned out to be a huge mistake. Even though my body was ready to let me veg around the house, it was not ready to commute on public transportation or drive or sit at a computer for 10 hours and I basically collapsed in bed after a couple days and couldn't move for another three days.

The second time around, I knew what to expect, and I took a week off work. My second doctor was also much better than the first and he didn't need to clean out my nose after. He also sent me home with a special sinus mask that you could pack with ice. It was awesome and worked much better than just sticking a cold compress over my eyes.

Does this help? I think if you go ahead and have the surgery, after a few months, you'll find that your sinuses are ~75% better than they are now.

 

[EricaR]

I just had this done about two months ago.

BEST. DECISION. EVER!

I had a my deviated fixed, polyps removed, turbinates reduced, adenoids removed, and an overall sinus roto-rooter. I took two full weeks off work an am glad I did. I had nosebleeds pretty regularly during those two weeks and it would have been a bit yucky to try and deal with those at work.

Recovery was uncomfortable. Actually, to be totally honest, the first two days were hell, followed by a few very uncomfortable days. I didn't end up with packing in my nose - my doctor uses plastic splints. I could breathe through the splints after four or five days. The worse post-surgical moment was when I had those splints removed. Ummmmm, yeah. Still gives me the heebie jeebies thinking about that!

At one of my follow-up appointments I turned to my doctor and said "Did you know that nostrils are holes in your skull that air goes in??!" It still amazes me how easy it is to breathe. I don't think I ever realized just how much I was struggling to take every breath. I'm asthmatic. Pre-surgery I was using my inhaler approximately 7-10 times a week. In the seven weeks after surgery I've used it four times. Total! My nasal steroid sprays (like the flonase you are using) can now get where they need to go! Using the NeilMed rinse is good - you'll have to do that 3 to 4 times a day post-surgery.

The biggest thing I can tell you is to shop around for doctors. I interviewed three docs before I found one I was comfortable with. Most ENTs will say "don't worry! I do this all the time" but I'm sorry, when someone will be fishing around inside my head just inches from my brain, I want to make sure it is someone I'm comfortable with. I wanted someone who would answer all my questions at my appointments, and several doctors told me they were too busy to answer those kinds of questions, that we'd talk the morning of surgery. Nope, not good enough! I am usually a very laid back kind of person and the questions I was asking were not that crazy. (examples: how will my asthma be managed through the surgical process? how do you go about doing the turbinate reduction? what kind of benefits will the surgery have for me?)

I'm now facing a possible second surgery because I still have a 45% obstruction on my left side. I am totally cool with that though, because I know it means my breathing will only get BETTER!

 

[AprilBaby]

I had it done in '96. I'm sure things have progressed. Worst part was the packing up the nose. Couldn't eat, ears hurt, throat got sore...could barely swallow, but it was out in 24 hrs. Second worst was removing the splints. Felt like my brain was coming out. Up side? I can breathe!!!!

 

[Lottie]

I had Septorhinoplasty in '95 and second what the others have said - the first couple of days post op are the worst and having the packing removed is an alarming experience. Get yourself a V pillow to sleep on as you don't want to be rolling onto your side! I do think that my septum has deviated back over slightly since the op - anyone else had that?

 

[Autumnovember]

I had sinus surgery twice.

I had the most AWFUL sinus headaches/watery eyes constantly and it really began to effect my life daily especially because I couldn't sleep because of it. Oh, and the tooth sensitivity I got from it was extremely painful.

So, I had the first surgery and felt so much better after. Recovery time was not long at all and it wasn't painful either. There was just bleeding so I had to keep gauze taped under my nose for a couple days. Unfortunately, my body hates when I have any kind of surgery and I ended up with an infection after the first surgery. Regardless, I felt great for a solid year afterwards but being young and noncompliant I didn't keep up with taking care of my sinuses after the surgery AND I had scar tissue. So I ended up having to go for round two. This time I had polyps. Recovery was better this time around and again it wasn't painful. I had the last sugery in 2007 and I'm still going strong! Best decision of my life. Heck, if I have to have another one sometime in the future I'll do it without hesitation. I have a slightly deviated septum but my doctor chose not to correct it because it doesn't impede my breathing enough to be significant. I know that septum surgeries can be very painful but sinus surgery is not. I second what others have said - the part that sucks the most is having the packing taken out but the ENT is usually quick with that and your throat feeling like you have glass in it the first day. Besides that, its fine.

Also, it seems that everyone had a little bit of a different experience with the surgery and I think its important to understand that each one varies by whats being corrected. My recovery time was 3 days TOPS.

 

[Asscherhalo_lover]

Thank you all for sharing your experiences. I have have basically been having non-stop sinus infections for about two years. I have been doing a lot of research and I will definitely take my time choosing the correct surgeon. I want to get it done so I can at least know I'm starting with a clean slate and I'll just have to stay on top of it after that. Anything is better than being on antibiotics non-stop. I have had to take those things more in the last two years than in my whole life combined. Not fun. Let's not even get into the pain. At this point I'm used to walking around with a constant headache/face pain/toothache. Everyone who knows me knows that I have advil, sudafed and muscinex on me at all times, it's sad, lol.

Thanks again for sharing, I'll update as things move along.

 

[QueenB29]

Thank you all for sharing your experiences. I have have basically been having non-stop sinus infections for about two years. I have been doing a lot of research and I will definitely take my time choosing the correct surgeon. I want to get it done so I can at least know I'm starting with a clean slate and I'll just have to stay on top of it after that. Anything is better than being on antibiotics non-stop. I have had to take those things more in the last two years than in my whole life combined. Not fun. Let's not even get into the pain. At this point I'm used to walking around with a constant headache/face pain/toothache. Everyone who knows me knows that I have advil, sudafed and muscinex on me at all times, it's sad, lol.

Thanks again for sharing, I'll update as things move along.

I hear your pain on the constant antibiotics. I'm now immune to so many, and get such horrible yeast infections. For the last couple years, my ENT has had me mix antibiotics and occasionally steroids into my sinus rinse bottle. I've had to resort to oral meds a few times, but in general they work much faster because they're going to the organ that needs them, and I don't have the miserable side effects of the oral meds. The best part is that I have all of the meds on hand and I can start using them the second I need them, rather than waiting for an appointment and a prescription.

The antibiotic is Muprocin...it actually comes as a topical cream (meant for cuts) and it sort of dissolves when you shake it up with the saline rinse. He's now found a pharmacy in CA that supplies the Muprocin in liquid form. I don't remember the name of the steroid, but it's a liquid steroid that is typically used to treat asthma in a breathing machine. The other thing that he's thinking about is starting me on an anti-fungal rinse, because he's convinced that many of my problems are related to my severe mold allergy. Speaking of which, have you been tested for allergies? And GERD? Either or both of which may be making your problem worse.

It sounds like you need surgery no matter what, and I don't know how widespread these treatments are, but it may be worth asking about when you find an ENT because in all likelihood, you'll still have some issues. Where do you live? If you're in the DC/Baltimore/Annapolis area, I'll give you the name of mine. He's brilliant. A genius. Seriously, one of my favorite people on earth