Surgery for deviated septum - have you done it? Would you?

[cheddarpie]

I have had a deviated septum for years. It's not terrible, but it's becoming more inconvenient and uncomfortable. On a scale of 1-10, 10 worst, I'd say it's a 6.

My out of pocket cost for surgery would be $4400. I don't want to dip into my HSA for this and would pay cash. Seems like  lot of money for something that isn't terrible to live with, but at the same time seems like a small amount of money for something that could potentially be life changing.

For those of you who have had a septoplasty done, would you do it again? Is it worth the cost? What was your recovery like and how long did it take?

Thanks for any insights!

[WootWoot]

My spouse had it done about 20 years ago. His ENT doctor said it would eliminate some of his health issues. At the time, he was a heavy smoker and naturally it did not really help. In my spouse's opinion, the doctor was kind of a surgery nut.

It took him several days to recover. He was pretty knocked out with painkillers and his nose was bandaged up with surgical gauze inside. I think the overall experience was pretty uncomfortable. I know he'd never do it again.

[rosarugosa]

Kristen of the Frugal Girl blog blogged about her experience.  I find her to be a very credible source of information.
http://www.thefrugalgirl.com/2016/10/im-getting-a-nose-job-and-its-going-to-save-me-money/
http://www.thefrugalgirl.com/2017/04/a-nose-update-5-5-months-in/

[GuitarStv]

I have a deviated septum . . . it doesn't cause me any major problems, other than regular nosebleeds.  I get them most often in the winter when the air is dry.  I've actually had the inside of my nose chemically cauterized six or seven times now to try and stop the nosebleeds, and was on the verge of getting surgery done to correct the problem.  At the time I had also started boxing, and I learned a couple tricks from the cutman at our gym that work reasonably well to limit the nosebleeds so never went through with the surgery.

[Sibley]

My mom did it. In her case, it appears that it didn't "stick", which is a risk. Basically, the stitches holding it in place failed before it had healed enough to stay in place. It did improve things some though, but not completely.

[Milizard]

Mine wasn't too terrible, but noticeable, and I didn't get surgery done specifically for a deviated septum.  I was getting constant sinus drainage and sinus infections, so I had my sinuses opened up with a balloon (others do scraping, which requires lots more recovery time.  That surgery fixed the deviated septum, too. I think it ended up costing me about $2000, but that all depends on your actual insurance coverage.

[cheddarpie]

Thanks for all the replies, and the link to the Frugal Girl blog -- great to see/read the details (ew!). I am leaning towards it but will wait a few months to make sure...

[DoubleDown]

Several years ago I had the surgery for a deviated septum along with turbinate reduction (removal of some of the excess tissue that was blocking the nasal passages on one side). My insurance covered a lot more -- I was only out of pocket about $200 -- but even if I had to pay the amount you will have to pay, I would do so. My quality of life is much better now. Not being able to breathe well is no way to live a life if you can avoid it. I would have rated my discomfort about the same as you, around a 6 out of 10. It was worse for me lying down, as breathing out my nose often became impossible.

So, I would definitely do it again. Yes, the recovery kind of sucks. There's substantial discomfort for a few days after the surgery, but I'm pretty sure my turbinate reduction makes it worse than just septoplasty by itself. The pain isn't that bad, I never even used the painkillers they prescribed, just Tylenol for a couple of days. It's the splints in your nose that cause the most discomfort. But after a week or so, they take those out, and then you'll be so happy with how well you can breathe.

All in all, well worth the few days of discomfort for years and years of being able to breathe properly out of my nose. Assuming you have a good surgeon, I definitely recommend going for it.

[frontstepdesign]

What an interesting thread - I had a preventative septoplasty/rhinoplasty 23 years ago at age 19 for concerns similar to the blog link, and I was able to have cosmetic changes along with the 'fix the breathing' ones.   I've never been able to compare with others' experiences.

Breathing pattern is mostly fixed - I still snore a bit in my sleep, and it's not apnea (been studied twice).  I am still susceptible to upper respiratory infection, but nothing beyond the usual range of normal.  I do generally breathe through my nose now.

The recovery was not that bad (I can now compare to ACL reconstruction - that was DEFINITELY WORSE - and gallbladder removal, which was easier).  The worst bit of the nose job was the two weeks of black eyes ("you should have seen the fight!"), and the initial removal of the packing, post-surgery.  Shades of Egyptian mummification ritual.  Also, they didn't warn me that an amount of blood goes down your throat on the table, and that upsets your stomach, so you might barf in the recovery room, which looks just about as scary as you can guess.  But was not an emergency.  (This was my first surgery, and I didn't know that I generally get nausea from anaesthesia.  Those airsickness stickers they adhere behind your ear do the trick for me now.)

I was given the instruction to manually press the sides of my nose together for a certain amount of time every day post-surgery, to help the new structure set up as desired.  I guess that worked.

I've always wondered since if I really should have bothered with the cosmetic part - but I think it's a chicken/egg thing.  If I hadn't had the cosmetic bit done, I wouldn't have gained the confidence to think now, "you know, you didn't really have to lower the bridge of your nose."

[Proud Foot]

If you are comfortable with it, see if you can find an ENT who will do it in office. My wife had hers fixed a couple years ago along with the balloon thing to open up her sinuses and her ENT was able to do it all in his office. It saved us significantly over an operating room and we only ended up paying around $250. Obviously your actual cost will vary depending on your insurance coverage but it will be a lot less than having it done in an operating room.

[TVRodriguez]

I had surgery for a deviated septum about 20 years ago, on the advice of the ENT who performed the surgery.  Recovery was a day or two of lying in bed at home, IIRC.  I honestly never noticed a difference.  DH tells me I snore, although he didn't know me before the surgery so he has no real point of comparison.

[cheddarpie]

Thanks, all --

Several years ago I had the surgery for a deviated septum along with turbinate reduction (removal of some of the excess tissue that was blocking the nasal passages on one side). My insurance covered a lot more -- I was only out of pocket about $200 -- but even if I had to pay the amount you will have to pay, I would do so. My quality of life is much better now. Not being able to breathe well is no way to live a life if you can avoid it. I would have rated my discomfort about the same as you, around a 6 out of 10. It was worse for me lying down, as breathing out my nose often became impossible.

Sounds very similar to me. I will also have to have a turbinate reduction and my issues are (much) worse lying down, so I'm glad to hear you got the relief you needed!

I have had two hip surgeries so I'm hopeful this recovery will be significantly easier and faster than that, but they didn't stick splints and gauze up my nose for my hip surgery and I never vomited blood, so I can't say it was really that bad. :) The worst part was the nausea from anesthesia, but I've learned that lesson now...

My insurance is an HDHP with a $1400 deductible and $3000 out of pocket max (that doesn't include deductible), so that's why it would be so expensive for me. I think it will be worth it, though. frontstepdesign, good tip about the air sickness patches!

I'm training for my first-ever half marathon in June (extra extra exciting after two hip surgeries!) and I don't want to interrupt my training significantly, so I'm thinking I'll wait until after that to do it. Also, the weather will be nicer for being stuck at home for a week. :)