Sinus Surgery. Anybody Had It?

[Flash Gordon]

I'm scheduled for major sinus surgery Wednesday morning.

I know it's going to be a miserable recovery, but I was just wondering if anyone here has gone through it.

I'm not petrified, only terrified.

 

[Section10]

I've had it done. The first 24 hours are the worst. After they pulled about a pillow-sized wad out of each nostril on the next day, it was all uphill after that. It was well worth the temporary discomfort.

 

[Daisy Buchanan]

Just wanted to wish you good luck.
I have not had sinus surgery, but I have had two major stomach surgeries (took out my large intestine, 3 feet of my small intestine, 72 staples in the tummy), and 4 other surgeries, so I know what recovery is like. What gets you through? Knowing that you are doing the right thing, and soon you will feel better than ever. Also, if they ask you if you want pain killers. Take them, even if the pain isn't all that bad. Dilauded is the best, kind of makes the days of recovery faster. Is that bad?
I wish you all the best, and an easy recovery. Please keep us informed as to how you are doing. You will be in my thoughts on Wednesday morning.
Best Wishes,
Daisy

 

[Barry]

What gets you through? Knowing that you are doing the right thing, and soon you will feel better than ever. Also, if they ask you if you want pain killers. Take them, even if the pain isn't all that bad.
Best Wishes,
Daisy

Very true.

I haven't had sinus surgery but I did have a rather large malignant tumor removed from my peroneal nerve (along with a nice piece of nerve, too). Rest up aftwerwards & like Daisy said - take the pain killers.

Barry

 

[Tony in Tarzana]

I had the deviated septum straightened and the nasal passages opened up a bit back in '89. The packing is a bear. Anything that's happening right between your eyes tends to get the majority of your attention, so it's hard to do or think of anything else besides the mattresses stuffed in your face.

The shocker was when the packing came out. I expected some little bits of cotton, but when the doc braced himself and pulled what looked to be two military-style duffel bags (full!) out of my head...

It's worth it, though. I felt like a hot rod that had its cylinder heads ported 'n polished. Wow, I can breathe through my nose!

(Sorry, everything's an automotive analogy to me. lol )

 

[Etienne]

I don't know what type of sinus surgery you're having, but I had my ethmoid processes done on both my right and left sinuses and the surgery itself was not an issue. Keeping my sinuses packed (as has been mentioned already) for 10 days was challenging...! But that first breath of unobstructed, free breathing was worth every minute of discomfort! I will pray for success for your surgery and patience for your recovery. Best wishes, Etienne

 

[Paisley]

I had septoplasty and turbinate reduction in 1999. I wasn't in pain, but I was miserable for a week.

The surgery did enable me to breathe through both sides of my nose at the same time. However, I've had a bloody nose every day ever since, although irrigating my nose every day seems to help with that. The surgery didn't keep me from getting sinus infections. The infections stopped after I quit working at engineering firms. [huh]

Would I go through it again? Probably not.

 

[Andykev]

It will be fine, and we will all be wishing you well!

Good god, good luck man. I have had oral surgery, and minor foot surgery...but surgery anything scares me. Lots can happen, so Our Prayers are with you.

The only nasal surgery I have had involves a finger....

 

[Twitch]

As a thought on medical stuff. I would tend to not do many elective proceedures and/or be perscribed meds unless a condition is seriously affecting my quality of life or could be ultimately terminal like cancer.

Medical organizations make money by having the ability to perfom proceedures and simply "see" patients by billing medicare, you HMO or you directly. It is a business like any other with profit as a huge motivational factor.

I would ask you if you got a 2nd opinion. Also medical people have a penchant of talking you into things and don't offer the negative possible outcomes unless you press them. If this condition is driving you nuts or causing pain and you can't concentrate on your waking life you should consider it necessary. If not, well...it is your decision.

More people die as a result of medical malpractice and accidents each year than any other cause.

 

[Paisley]

I agree with Twitch. Do everything you can to help your sinus problems before having surgery. Something that really helped me was a book called Sinus Survival, written by an M.D. (whose name I cannot recall). He says that most people with sinus infections don't even need antibiotics. Of course, I can't state here everything that that book states, but two of the most important things for me were to irrigate my nose and stop eating dairy. Once in a while I take Sudafed or Umcka Cold Care to clear the congestion, but the misery I was in last year with my allergies is almost completely gone.

Good luck to you.

 

[SGB]

I had surgery 30 years ago, if you can't breath out of your nose due to blockage from broken nose etc., then you need to have the surgery. I had it drilled, re-set, cartilage removed, re-shaped, exterior cut, and the results were well worth it....I could breath again. Fortunately I have a condition that allows surgery with no pain afterwards, guess I'm lucky. I never felt pain or took any pain pills afterwards, same thing when I've had 3 knee surgeries.
Some people have a real painful experience with nose surgery, but if you really need it, the results are worth it.

SGB

 

[DancingSweetie]

I don't know what kind of surgery you're having, but I used to be an assistant for a periodontist that did dental implants as well, and he used to do sinus lifts - to get the sinus out of the way so an implant won't puncture the sinus. We would go through the palate to do this, which is pretty brutal, but most patients said it wasn't as bad as they thought it would be. Just take your meds and follow your post op instructions and you should be fine. Just don't sneeze!

 

[Flash Gordon]

Thank you so much for all your good wishes!

I'm home now and resting uncomfortably. This is the first chance I've had to go online since the surgery.

Here's what I had done (that I know about):

Bilateral Ethmoidectomy, septoplasty with a bone spur removal, all the other sinuses opened up and chronic infections drained, and best of all...a nasty, in-the-bone next-to-the-optic nerve ABCESS removed. The surgeon told my wife that it looked like it had been there for years, and that it was like having cancer without the cancer. I KNEW there was something that was draining my energy for a long time. Nobody else could figure out what was wrong.

So, although I can't breathe through my nose (no packing, just plastic splints that come out on Monday) and haven't slept yet since last Monday night, I'm glad to have all that taken care of, and I'm looking forward to the TWO MONTH recovery being over and being able to breathe like a normal person.

This WAS a second opinion, by the way, and the surgery was performed by the chairman of otolaryngology at Columbia-Presbyterian Hospital here in New York, so I felt I was going to be in good hands, and I was. It's a terrific hospital and everyone was very supportive and kind and professional.

So that's far more information than I'm sure you wanted, but it may help someone else who's suffering from a similar condition to take the plunge.

I'm miserable, but hopeful!

Thanks again for your kidness!

 

[Daisy Buchanan]

So glad you are doing, well somewhat, allright.
I'm glad you made it through the surgery, and that it sounds like it will be a success.
Being that I have had 2 illnesses over the past 6 years, I do know a little about what you're going through. I really know a lot about abscesses of the body, for I have had a few, and being a dental hygienist, I have to know everything imagineable about the ones of the face. I also know a little about the hospitals in your area, and have heard wonderful things about the one where you had your procedures completed. From what I've heard, you are in excellent hands. Some of the best in the country. My family is actually trying to convince me to go see a gastroenterologist (wow that's even bigger in writing) at the same hospital.
What did you think of the surgical team? My biggest problem with surgeons is they all seem to have a holier than thow attitude. In true honesty, one of my surgeons is the biggest *%$#@#&^%%$$ (insert every bad word known to man here) I have ever encountered. But, he has been ranked one of the top ten in the country for what he does, so I keep going to him. Personally, I'd like to find someone with a little more, actually any at this point, bed side manner.
Did you find your surgeon stuck up and stand offish? I have one surgeon who is one of the nicest men I've ever met, but he doesn't specialize in GI and adhesions, so he can't do the surgery. That, and the jerky surgeon has convinced just about every surgeon in the Boston area not to operate on me , very long story.. Just adds to his jerkiness.
Well, anyway, when you are feeling better I would like to hear about what your surgeon experience was like. It might give me that push I need to go there.
I'm glad you are home. It must be a relief to have it completed. And take those pain killers, as I've said before, they make recovery a lot easier.

 

[Dietrich]

More people die as a result of medical malpractice and accidents each year than any other cause.

I hesitate to intrduce myself on such a negative note, but I feel compelled to refute a falsehood such as this. Death by medical malpractice is a rare occurence indeed. Taken alone, deaths as a direct consequence of surgical error make up a fraction of one percent of all deaths, most of those being amongst the elderly or those already weakened by serious disease. The chance of dying under general anesthesia is approximately 1 in 200,000. The chance of a fit, young person dying during minor surgery is less than one in a million. The risks of death during recovery due to malpractice are difficult to measure and vary widely with the seriousness of the surgery but are known to be a negligible mortality factor.

I sincerely apologise for the tone of this post, but I fear such misinformation could have dire consequences were a seriously ill person to make decisions based upon it. There are indeed risks associated with surgery, but for fit people undergoing minor surgery such risks are negligible. Doctors carefully consider and explain the risks of any procedure and frequently advise against surgery where the risks could be seen to outweigh the benefits. To misrepresent risk as grossly as you have is not merely a horrible burden to lay upon an already frightened person but tantamount to libel against the medical profession.

 

[Daisy Buchanan]

I hesitate to intrduce myself on such a negative note, but I feel compelled to refute a falsehood such as this. Death by medical malpractice is a rare occurence indeed. Taken alone, deaths as a direct consequence of surgical error make up a fraction of one percent of all deaths, most of those being amongst the elderly or those already weakened by serious disease. The chance of dying under general anesthesia is approximately 1 in 200,000. The chance of a fit, young person dying during minor surgery is less than one in a million. The risks of death during recovery due to malpractice are difficult to measure and vary widely with the seriousness of the surgery but are known to be a negligible mortality factor.

I sincerely apologise for the tone of this post, but I fear such misinformation could have dire consequences were a seriously ill person to make decisions based upon it. There are indeed risks associated with surgery, but for fit people undergoing minor surgery such risks are negligible. Doctors carefully consider and explain the risks of any procedure and frequently advise against surgery where the risks could be seen to outweigh the benefits. To misrepresent risk as grossly as you have is not merely a horrible burden to lay upon an already frightened person but tantamount to libel against the medical profession.

Not a bad introduction at all. We are not here to spread fear, but to lend support, and this is exactly what you've done.
Your facts are indeed correct, and if I had paid a little more attention to this thread, I think I would have pointed out the same thing.

We are here to support our friend, and I'm sorry too if this comes across wrong, but not inundate him with facts that not only really don't apply but also could cause fear.

The medical profession gets a bad rap. I've placed my life in the hands of a few surgeons and many doctors, and although I may not be the happiest with all of their bed side manner, I am confident in the wonderful care I have received. Malpractice claims are a huge cause for concern, especially to someone like me. Because of them doctors are cutting back their hours and refusing to treat certain patients. Funny, considering the major and wonderful medical advances that have been made over the past 20 years.

 

[Etienne]

So....FlashGordon, how did the surgery go?????? Hope you're doing really well by now