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Septoplasty is a plastic surgical intervention, during which the removal of air obstructions in the human body and the correct installation of the nasal septum, which leads to the restoration of healthy breathing.
If you have a modified nose shape, a pale complexion, chronic sinusitis, heavy breathing, frequent headaches, lack of sleep (oxygen starvation), snoring, bleeding, and you often get ARVI and breathe through your mouth, then all this is quite possibly caused by an incorrect internal the structure of the nose, which means you need plastic surgery.
The culprit of the curve of the bridge of the nose and impaired breathing are both congenital (from birth) and acquired deformation of the internal structure of the structures of the nose (due to trauma). Depending on the cause and the individual physiological structure, the doctor draws up the correct course of treatment (if it is really necessary), and during the surgical intervention all the necessary manipulations are carried out.
To this end, the patient undergoes a complete examination, including testing, passes special tests to check the respiratory process and takes a number of necessary pictures.
Indications and contraindications for septoplasty
Septoplasty has certain medical indications, and ignoring the recommended operation can simply cause frequent illnesses, nosebleeds, hearing loss and, moreover, diseases of the internal organs, because any ailment can disrupt the respiratory system and cause oxygen deficiency.
A deviated nasal septum has a variety of symptoms. Firstly, it can be difficult breathing through the nose – tolerable or complete absence of it. With a unilateral curvature of the septum, a change in breathing is noted on the side where this curvature is detected, if there are no other obstacles to the ingress of oxygen.
Secondly, it is snoring – it manifests itself due to altered breathing. Thirdly, it is chronic sinusitis (sinusitis, frontal sinusitis, ethmoiditis, sphenoiditis) – with difficult ventilation of the paranasal sinuses, sinusitis progresses and becomes chronic. Fourthly, it is the deformation of the nose from the outside. Fifthly, these are constant bleeding – they arise due to damage to the thinned patch of the mucous membrane at the top of the nasal septum spike. They can appear when blowing your nose or removing dry crusts from the nose with a finger or a foreign object.
Sixthly, this is a decrease in hearing ability (tubootitis or eustachitis) – the obstructed passage of air into the respiratory tract provokes a deterioration in the ventilation of the middle ear cavity through the mouth of the nasopharynx. Seventh, this is a frequent trend of long-term respiratory diseases, which eventually lead to complications (otitis media, sinusitis, etc.).
In conclusion, this is chronic pharyngitis, tonsillitis or laryngitis – this inflammation is formed due to the ingress of poorly purified and cool air on the mucous membrane of the pharynx, larynx and tonsils.
In any case, there are a number of contraindications when septoplasty cannot be performed:
- pregnancy and lactation;
- failure to take anesthesia;
- allergic rhinitis (acute form);
- ARVI;
- chronic diseases in which it is impossible to administer anesthesia.
Is surgery necessary for a deviated septum?
If a person has only a slight curvature of the nasal septum, then most likely he will not need a correction. Nevertheless, such a decision is made by a professional otorhinolaryngologist and only after an in-depth examination of the patient, using various types of examination.
It should be noted that patients are often rather skeptical about the doctor’s recommendation regarding the surgical method of treating the nasal septum. However, it is very important to listen to the opinion of a specialist and follow his recommendations.
Increasingly, elderly people (in the region of 60 years and older) come with a request to eliminate problems with a deviated nasal septum.
All this is because, over time, the elasticity of the lung tissue and the volume of the lungs decrease, making it more and more difficult to breathe through the nose. Meanwhile, there is a risk of intolerance to anesthesia and septoplasty itself in the elderly.
It is very important to know that if children have problems since birth, you should not delay the operation until the age of 18 and beyond, since the lack of oxygen produced affects the mental and physical processes of the child’s development and will lead to deformation of the facial skeleton (malocclusion or tooth growth disorder). ). Septoplasty in children is possible from the age of 6, because by this time the structure of the nasal septum has been formed.
Warnings and possible complications after surgery
Carrying out such an operation, of course, affects the body, so it is necessary to facilitate the course of the plastic surgery itself and the postoperative period, and for this it is necessary to avoid any stress even before the start of treatment. It is also very important to deliberately agree to septoplasty, discuss with the doctor in advance all the questions about the upcoming operation and be optimistic!
In order to avoid complications, of course, you must first undergo a complete examination before the operation and follow all the recommendations and prescriptions of your doctor after the manipulation. First of all, the doctor must exclude any contraindications. If you smoke, you will have to give it up, because smoking complicates the course of the operation, the removal of anesthesia from the body and the healing of the wound.
It is also undesirable for girls to do plastic surgery on the eve and during menstruation, but only 7-10 days after it ends.
If the patient is taking medications that affect the blood coagulation process (aspirin, ketanov, diclofenac, etc.), he must consult with his doctor without fail – these drugs should be stopped 2 weeks before the operation and for 2 weeks after it.
I would also like to note that it is necessary to refrain from eating at night on the eve of the operating day. And without fail, all patients must undergo rehabilitation after septoplasty – this will help to get rid of possible blue, painful sensations much faster and return to the usual rhythm of life as soon as possible.
How is nasal septum surgery performed?
Currently, a completely new technique of septoplasty has been developed, in which only modified parts of the nasal septum are removed and corrected. The surgeon performs the operation under direct visual control using endoscopic techniques and special devices, while minimizing damage to adjacent tissues, which leads to a functional result of the surgical intervention.
Endoscopic septoplasty is performed exclusively under general anesthesia. The patient is connected to special sensors and is under the constant supervision of an anesthesiologist and other medical professionals. workers.
Manipulation is performed endonasally (through the nasal cavity) and lasts about 2-3 hours – an endoscope (2,7 mm or 4 mm) is inserted, in the middle of which there is fiber optics, with which the surgeon sees all inaccessible parts of the nose on the screen, less traumatic and more correctly performs all the necessary actions.
As a result, the septum is fixed in a certain position, tampons are inserted into the nasal cavity to maintain the nasal septum in the desired position and absorb bleeding (they are removed after 24-72 hours).
Recovery after septoplasty
The patient should get rid of swelling, bruising, acquire the desired shape of the nose and enjoy a full life in a maximum of 2 weeks.
To speed up the healing process, all patients are recommended to undergo a special rehabilitation course, which includes various procedures, such as hirudotherapy (relieves swelling, bruising, improves blood circulation).
The initial stage of restorative sessions is possible already from the first days after the correction, and after 2-4 days the patient should undergo rehabilitation, coming to the hospital 2-3 times a week for 10-14 days.
It is very important to know that the nasal septum can be treated with open and closed rhinoplasty.
The closed form of plastic intervention is unique, because after it there are no scars on the skin and scars in the future. However, only the best plastic surgeons can perform such an operation.