Well I have been battling Sinus Infections and headaches all summer. Tried everything.

Well had surgery Wednesday for a Septoplasty and Sinus surgery. CT scan before the surgery showed all areas had chronic mucosal thickening.

So surgery was done Wednesday and there are I believe Doctor said splints in there. Doctor will remove them next week after 6 days. He said I should see great relief down the road. Not liking the drainage and then the 4 times a day saline flush. Have good pain pills which makes sleeping a little easier. Slept in the recliner last night, or at least tried to, due to heave drainage. Drainage was at a minimum today so I was able to get a good nap in the bed.

I am glad I am on Vacation until next year. Discharge paperwork says no bending or moderate to heavy lifting for two weeks.

Share anything you can. Please.

Thanks
Roy

Pre Surgery CT report

Impression

1. Mild chronic mucosal thickening in the bilateral frontal, ethmoid and maxillary sinuses.
2. Mild right nasal septal deviation.

Narrative

CT STEALTH SINUS
8/31/2018 6:44 AM

Clinical Indication: R51: Headache

Comparison: None.

Technique: Multidetector axial sections (stealth protocol) of the paranasal sinuses. Coronal reformations were reviewed.

Radiation dose: The CTDI volume radiation dose (mGy) and Total DLP (mGy-cm) calculated for this examination based on a standard phantom is DLP Total : 89.7 mGy-cm; CTDI Vol : 7.47 mGy . Low dosage iterative reconstruction technique utilized.

Findings:

Frontal: There is a trace amount of chronic mucosal thickening in the bilateral frontal recesses. No air-fluid levels are identified.

Ethmoid: There is a mild degree of chronic mucosal thickening in the bilateral ethmoid sinuses.

Sphenoid: Trace mucosal thickening is present in the left sphenoid sinus. There are no air-fluid levels.

Maxillary: Multifocal minimal chronic mucosal thickening is present in the left maxillary sinus measuring up to 3 mm in thickness. Trace amount mucosal thickening is adjacent to the right ostiomeatal complex. Bilateral osteomeatal complexes are patent.

Other: There is mild right nasal septal deviation. The nasal turbinates appear normal. The mastoid air cells are clear.

Update: 12-14-18 Two Days after Surgery.

I am able to sleep in the bed instead of the recliner. So I am getting a better night sleep.

I had a slightly loose crown on an upper left eye tooth that became really loose during the surgery. Probably due to the respirator they said they will but me on during surgery. Loose crown re-cemented today and will have to get a new post for it very soon which is scheduled for Monday next week.

I am finally able to inhale some thru the nose. It has been blocked with dry blood and stuff. So it is a lot easier to eat and swallow. I guess the four times a day Sinus Flushing is working. Now it feels like I have a runny nose with the drainage after flushing. Before it felt like my head was all plugged up.

Will have the splints pulled out next week Tuesday – 6 days after surgery. Doctor said it will really feel good then.

The Doctor put me on Doxycycline 100 mg just to protect from infection. Norco for pain as needed.

I have tried everything this season to fight the Sinus Flare Ups. Nothing seemed to work. I am on a Nasal Steroid Spray daily and four different times with antibiotics once with Steroid pills included. Finish the course and right back to the pain and discomfort. Doctor was a little surprised to see chronic mucosal thickening in all of the Sinus Areas in the CT Scan. For there was not a lot of irritation seen when he scoped what he could.

All in all I fell pretty decent. The Nose is real tender to the touch now. So the flushing is a little painful. I am trying to only take a pain pill at night to aid in falling asleep.

Thanks for all the sharing of your outcome. I am looking forward to better times down the road.

Update Two: 12-18-19 Well today I had the two Sinus splints removed.

See: https://www.bing.com/images/se...dIndex=22&ajaxhist=0

There was a little pain when the left side was removed like if you pulled some nose hairs that were in a pimple. Just a sharp pinch pain then ok. I asked the doctor what all was done. He said the deviated septum was corrected. The three turbinate bones on each side were opened up and cleaned out. They were held open and centered. He said that there is still a chance of an infection developing, or the turbinate bones to close up. These are mostly unlikely.

I have not breathed this good since my Twenties when I was in great shape.

Well worth the weeks pain and discomfort.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: ontmark,

I had mine done this past January.

Worth it. Just the septoplasty made such a difference. I can breathe!

I didn’t have splints, just a gauze under my nose to catch the draining. Sleeping was very difficult. Couldn’t lay down for a week.

Subscribing.
My sinus infections seem to get worse every year. My wife and I were just discussing this the other night. I have nothing to add just curious as to what others say.

I've been through two of these. The first one lasted for 11 years before I had to have a second one. On fifth year now. Not a lot of fun but better than monthly sinus infections.

I had rhino-septoplasty a number of years ago. The plastic "butterflies" used to hold the broken turbinates aside as they healed were a real pain in the ass. They restricted the air flow just enough to cause me to be a mouth-breather for the week they were in. So unfortunately these stints may cause this to be the longest week of your life. When they removed mine the doc asked my wife if I suffered from Tourette's Syndrome based on the words that came out of my mouth. (Be prepared for a painful extraction due to the blood clotting around the stints.)

This may seem obvious, but don't allow anything to accidentally hit your nose during recovery (it's very painful and it causes bleeding - yes, I know this from experience). Adhere to the instructions not to bend over or lift heavy objects because anything that increases blood pressure to the head (sneezing, for example) can cause bleeding.

Hang in there! Enjoy the meds and your "vacation" until next year.

OP has been edited.

I added pre surgery CT Scan report.

I'll be blunt. Mine was terrible. A --very-- hard experience, made worse by a post-op med dosing error that gave me pain meds a factor of 10 too low. Essentially no pain meds for 18 hours.

Without that, it would still have been a rough few weeks. I had a deviated septum that required expensive work and many cuts and stitched to pull that pig rind into something of a decent septum. Also I had turbinate reductions. Basically they roto-rooter material out of the middle of them.

Now... that said.... TOTALLY worth it. Totally.

I had it done twice. The first time there was little improvement, then much worse after moving to Iowa. They second time the surgeon said I was lucky to be alive after that first surgery and that he had repaired all that was possible.

Things were better after the second round, but I still needed to do daily sinus flushes to prevent infection.

This is probably too late but have you had an allergy test done?

I don't have anything but well wishes for a safe and fast recovery.

Well, don't sneeze or pick your nose are all the come to mind.

There are several good threads about this on the forum.

I had both nostrils done back in the mid 90's. I also had months of terrible headaches and congestion and the antibiotics did no good at all. The surgeon told me afterwards that he had to completely rebuild the cartilage and then put both nostrils back together again. He called me the day after the surgery (outpatient), it was a Saturday, just to see how I was doing. I told him that the "packs" in each nostril had to come out as I was absolutely miserable. I don't remember having any pain meds but it probably would not have mattered much. He said they had to be in for 24 hours and he could remove them on Monday. I asked a few questions about that and decided that I could do it just as well at home. He was a little hesitant but said after the 24 hours it was my call. I pulled them both out and what a mess but that is another story. I felt better immediately.

That surgery was a real success for me and have not had a problem with it since.

Good luck!!

Mrs. Mike had hers done several years ago...she too had chronic infections...they did some kinda thing where they inflate a bag in the "window" (dunno where that is) and then they did some structure building under her nostrils to open her airways...

she was miserable for two weeks then one day it was better.

She hasn't had a problem since then.

Good luck to you

I had a septoplasty and turbinate reduction about 15 years ago. I had gotten to the point where I was 100% blocked on one side, and 80% blocked on the other. I finally decided to get it done when I almost choked eating because I was trying to breath around a mouthful food. My recovery really, really sucked. I've broken a lot of pieces of my body over the years, but this hurt the worst in the short term. Three days of pure hell where the entirety of my existence was focused on the pain in the center of my face.

That said though, I had a very short recovery. Those three days were terrible, but after that the pain went away pretty quickly. Within a week I was feeling very good, and overall I'm glad I went through it. I still have some restriction, but it's miles better than it was before and I don't have to worry about choking while I eat.

My suggestions would be to line up some shows to binge watch, because you're probably not going to feel like doing anything but lay on your back. Get soft, easy on the stomach foods so you don't have to chew and won't get too nauseous with any medication they give you. Also, take some tylenol before any follow up appointments. You will probably be feeling a lot better at that point, but getting those stints and packing pulled out is pretty uncomfortable.

A few years ago I went to urgent care because of a week long headache.

Scan showed no tumors but I was diagnosed with chronic sinusitis. Got a prescription for some sort of nose spray (flonase?) to help ease the swelling. I only use it when I start to hurt. Seems to keep the infections at bay most of the time.

Very painful. I hope you heal up soon.

I had sinus surgery in 1999 (and am probably due for a repeat). I didn't have splints left in like you have though.

The surgery made a great improvement that lasted for about 10 years or so but has been worsening since then. My recovery was pretty easy - in fact only missed 2 days work (surgery Thursday and back to work Monday).

I'm not sure with the splits if your sinus cavities have packing. I remember when the surgeon pulled the packing out it was like some sort of magic act - I swear he pulled a beach towel out of my nose! I remember thinking I can't believe all that was stuffed inside my head.

Had deviated spetum surgery at 20 YOA (31 years ago)It opened me to 95% on right side and 85% on left side. What was suppose to be a 30-45 minute surgery turned into almost 2 and half hours. Doc had to take the bone out, crushed to to slmost straight and bone graft it back in (at least that was what was told me). It was horrible for about 3 days of pain. A week later when he took the splints out and pulled what seemed like a king size bed sheet .....out of each nostril, it got better.

Flash forward 30 years: I was getting multiple sinus infections a year that almost always turned into sore throat and bronchitis in about 30 minutes. My insurance finally approved balloon sinuplasty in November 2017. I went in for exam and CT scan. Severe blockage on right side sinus, moderate blockage in left side sinus. In fact at time of CT scan the doctor said I had a sinus infection....I was so used to them that I didn't notice as the symptoms weren't bad yet. I also had the allergy test done and started allergy drops. January 5th 2018, I had the balloon sinuplasty and turbinate reduction procedure. It was fine and lasted maybe 25 minutes total time. Sounded like the doctor was cracking walnuts.....in my face. NO pain, just a feeling of pressure. Got home and started the saline rinses.....oh my god!!!!!!! the crap that came out of was disgusting (think thick to almost solid mucus that had been in there for years ) . Before when I did sinus rinses, which ever nostril/side I was doing, it would just run down the back of my throat instead of going out the other nostril. After the procedure, the rinse went through both sinuses and out the other nostril.

Since having the procedure and going on the allergy drops, I have not had ANY sinus issues and have not caught a cold sore throat, flu, etc. I mean there have been biblical like plagues that have gone through work with almost everyone catching it and being out on sick leave.....but not me!

During severe allergy seasons (mold is my kryptonite), I do daily sinus rinses with a higher saline content and I have been fine.

1. The best way to deal with sinus infections, IMO, is not get them in the first place.

2. I regard going under the knife as a last-ditch resort.

My wife and I have nearly constant sinus issues. We keep them under control with nasal washes (sometimes up to three-times-a-day), nasal sprays and OTC allergy medication.

Mine just flared-up again after a couple months of respite. So now it's back to 2-3 times a day nasal rinsing, Loratadine (Claritin®) and Nasalcrom® (a non-steroidal nasal spray).

Once it gets under control I'll drop the Loratadine, then the Nasalcrom, then the rinses. If it gets worse I'll up my game to Nasacort® or Flonase® plus Cetirizine (Zyrtec®) with decongestant.

Ever since I learned, and, more importantly, learned to pay attention to, the warning signs, I haven't suffered another sinus infection.

Update in OP

Thanks Everyone.

Update in OP

Not to be critical, but I would have posed this question BEFORE I had the surgery. But I tend to be a bit of a coward.