This condition, which is generally called nasal or bone curvature among the public and called Septum Deviation in medicine, is one of the common causes of nasal congestion. Bone and cartilage curvatures can cause obstruction of varying severity depending on their location in the nose and the size of the curvature. For example, a curvature located close to the nostrils can cause a lot of problems for the patient due to the narrow entrance area. Septum deviation is one of the common causes of nasal congestion.
What are the Harms of Nose Curvature?
The effects of nasal congestion may be felt more at night. Complaints such as open mouth, snoring, dry throat when waking up in the morning, burning sensation, easy fatigue, head ache, postnasal drip and cough may disturb the patient. As a result of nasal congestion, the patient is prevented from breathing easily. In addition, due to mouth breathing, especially at night, the humidity and temperature of the inhaled air cannot be adjusted and facilitate the emergence of chronic pharyngitis. By preventing the normal functioning of the sinuses, it can cause laryngitis and bronchitis with the postnasal drip it creates. Since it reduces oxygen intake, especially in later ages, it causes lung and heart diseases or makes it difficult to heal an existing disease.
What are the Symptoms of Nose Curvature?
Difficulty breathing through the nose or not being able to breathe at all.
Sleeping with the mouth open, snoring, and in severe cases, stopping breathing during sleep.
Waking up tired and exhausted in the morning, dry mouth and intermittent sleepiness throughout the day.
Low daily physical activities and early fatigue.
Preparing the ground for similar infections such as sinusitis, pharyngitis, laryngitis, bronchitis and otitis.
In some severe cases, headache and facial pain may occur.
Inability to smell, although very rare, in cases where it is completely curved and there is no air passage.
If you are experiencing the symptoms mentioned above, it would be better to get rid of these problems with a surgery that is not too risky.
How to Diagnose Crooked Nose?
In determining the causes of nasal congestion complaints, endoscopic examination performed by an ear, nose and throat physician is very important for making the diagnosis. If the physician deems necessary, he or she may perform radiological examination (computed tomography) to detect additional pathologies. With surgical intervention, the curvature of the middle section of the nose and the growths in the side wall of the nose can be intervened and thus healing can be achieved. However, problems related to mucosal swelling (cold, rhinitis, allergic rhinitis) cannot be eliminated by surgery. If nasal congestion has become a problem for the person, that is, if the person spends most of the day breathing through the mouth rather than through the nose and snores at night, surgery should definitely be considered to improve the quality of life.
How is Nose Curvature Surgery Performed?
In nasal curvature, that is, septum deviation surgery (septoplasty), the crooked parts of the bone and cartilage are corrected. The parts that are too warped to be straightened are removed. In some cases, some of the removed cartilage is corrected and replaced.
In patients with nasal septum deviation, nasal concha swelling (inferior turbinate hypertrophy) may generally accompany it. The nasal concha is evaluated during the surgery. If necessary, reduction of the inferior turbinates is performed. The surgery can be performed with both local anesthesia and general anesthesia.
A tampon is placed in the nose immediately after the surgery. These tampons are made of silicone, and the patient can breathe more easily through the channels inside. The patient does not feel any pain during removal. In some cases, additional tampons need to be placed on the nasal concha (inferior turbinates) after surgical procedures. Since it is operated from inside the nose, there are no surgical scars on the outside. Although this surgery has recently been performed with the endoscopic method (visual method), it is not absolutely necessary in patients with only septum deviation.
Is There an Age Limit for Nose Curvature Surgery?
There are some centers in the nasal septum that determine the development of facial bones. Surgical treatment of septum deviations detected in childhood is generally not performed before the age of 18 in order not to disrupt these centers and the bone development of the face. In adults, growth centers are not active and therefore septoplasty surgeries do not have a negative effect on the shape of the face.
What to Consider Before Nose Surgery
Before nasal curvature surgery, the use of Aspirin and similar blood thinners should be stopped 1 week in advance. The patient must not have any infection, especially upper respiratory tract infection, at the time of surgery.
What Should Be Considered After Nasal Curvature Surgery?
Immediately after the surgery, the air channels in the silicone splints inside the nose are washed with specially designed serums or sprays to keep them open. These silicones are removed after remaining in the nose for approximately two days (maybe longer in some cases). Then, nasal washings are continued with a special solution, and moisturizing drops can be used to reduce the crusts that may form in the nose. The patient is seen once a week for approximately 3 to 4 weeks and the nose is cleaned. One of the important points to consider after the surgery is that if there is hay fever or something similar that may contribute to nasal congestion, its treatment should not be neglected.
Use the medications recommended by your doctor regularly without interruption.
Be careful not to bump your nose and do not move it with your hand to probe the surgery.
Never inhale tap water into your nose as it may be harmful after surgery.
Do not try to blow your nose until your doctor gives permission.
You can take a bath, provided that it is not too hot or excessive.
After the surgery, there may be bleeding from your nose that gradually decreases for a few days. If there is excessive bleeding, be sure to consult your doctor.
Smoking and drinking alcohol after surgery are harmful as they negatively affect the healing of wounds.
At home and in the hospital, you should sleep with the head of the bed slightly elevated.
There may be temporary numbness and loss of sensation in the upper lip, but this problem disappears over time.
After the surgery, a feeling of dryness and crusting may occur in the nose. To minimize these, use a cold steam machine in your environment or breathe through your nose against the steam of a bowl of boiled water 3 to 4 times a day.
Full healing inside the nose will be completed within 2 to 6 weeks. During this period, go to the check-ups recommended by your doctor on time and regularly.
How are Nose Curvature Surgery Prices Determined?
Nasal deviation surgery prices are highly variable due to competition in the market. If only nasal bone surgery is to be performed once, the prices are generally close to each other. If it will be performed together with nasal flesh surgery, there will be differences in the fees. Especially in surgeries performed with aesthetic interventions, prices will vary 100 percent.
Rhinoplasty surgery prices vary widely due to more alternatives than before. Since it is done individually, costs may vary. In order to get clear price information about rhinoplasty, either a photograph of the nose area taken on the internet or a visit to the clinic to be examined is decisive. Apart from this, the prices quoted will be purely estimated prices.