Septoplasty: All You Need To Know!

The nasal septum divides the nose into two nostrils. It has three parts: membranous, cartilaginous and bony. When this septum is defective in structure or position, it can cause several physical difficulties like breathing problems, sleep apnea, bleeding, sinusitis, etc. The surgery to correct the nasal septum is known as septoplasty. The surgery is very common and has a high rate of success.

Reasons

When the bone and cartilage separating the two chambers is crooked and deformed, it prevents the air from flowing properly through either one of the nostrils. The people suffering from this condition often take to breathing through their mouth resulting in excessive dryness. So, the septum is fixed with the help of septoplasty.

Procedure

1. First, your medical history is taken, a thorough nasal examination is conducted . You may also be asked to avoid medication like ibuprofen, naproxen and aspirin for a few days since these can increase the bleeding after surgery.
2. Septoplasty is performed under general or local anesthesia and takes about 30 minutes. Incisions are made on the inside of the nose at the muco-cutaneous junction and the mucus membrane is lifted.  
3. Bony-cartilagenous junction is dislocated.
4. Then, the pieces of deformed bone and cartilage that are affecting normal functioning are removed.
5. It is very important to leave dorsal and caudal struts of septal cartilage to prevent deformities.
6. After this, the mucus membrane is put back in place and stitched.

Post- surgical care

A nasal support is put inside the nose to help it heal and keep it straight. The support is removed after two days but there may be swelling and occasional nasal discharge for a few days. The tissues and cartilage become stable within 2 to 3 months.

You are asked not to blow your nose or cough and sneeze too much as these might displace the nasal support. The head is to be kept at a higher level than the rest of the body while sleeping and physically demanding exercises are to be avoided in order to prevent nosebleeds.

Contraindications​

Septoplasty is not performed if the patient has high level of blood sugar or high blood pressure. It is performed once the hypertension and diabetes are controlled. It is also delayed in case of any kind of infection in the nose, mouth or in the respiratory tract.