Surgery is often used to restore the physiology of the nasal cavity, resulting in the correction of the nasal septum. Otorhinolaryngologists refer many patients first for X-rays and then for surgery. The problem of curvature of the nasal septum is very common, but not as insignificant as many think. People who allow this to happen are more likely than others to suffer from sinusitis, sinusitis, oxygen starvation, and metabolic disorders in the body.
Causes of curvature
There are only 3 main causes of this problem - genetic, compensatory or traumatic. Doctors often encounter genetic causes of curvature of the nasal septum - a person may develop an abnormal structure of the nasal cavity due to improper intrauterine development.
This is due to the displacement or deformation of the bone or cartilage tissue in this region, the formation of ridge-like protrusions, the fusion of certain types of tissue, and so on.
Traumatic causes are also common in our time, and by their very nature can occur in many athletes, military, and other categories that are professionally (or otherwise) likely to have a broken nose.
Mechanical movements damage the nose (in this case, it is not even necessary to break), the nasal septum moves, reducing the internal cavity on one side. This condition is more dangerous during adolescence, when bone and cartilage tissue are actively growing. Under the compensatory causes of curvature of the nasal septum, experts understand the process of growth of adenoids, the formation of polyps in the nose, frequent swelling in rhinitis, as well as piercing or barbells in the nose.
What is the operation for?
Rhinoplasty is purely aesthetic and cosmetic in nature, and if it affects only the external factor, the operation to correct the nasal septum has a great medical prescription.
Such a surgical intervention can correct the shape of the nose, but first of all it is necessary to restore the health of the body, not its beauty.
If such an operation is not performed in time, there may be serious health complications, including:
- violation of the correctness of nasal breathing, expressed in the difficulty of breathing air through a person's nose;
- discomfort in the nasal cavity of air dynamics; violation of the protective functions of the mucous membrane;
- occurrence of oxygen starvation in the body; sneezing, spasm of the larynx and other reflex diseases;
- frequent migraines;
- occurrence of somatic cough.
Tips for operation and contraindications
The operation to correct the curvature of the nasal septum is performed after a thorough examination of the patient. To begin such an examination, the physician must analyze the oral complaints he may hear from the patient.
For example, you may think of such a diagnosis as rhinitis or sinusitis, obstruction of one of the nostrils, changes in the shape of the nose, nosebleeds, frequent allergic reactions, and night snoring. With two or more similar complaints, a fluoroscopy is scheduled to confirm or deny the diagnosis. The X-ray image will visually show the nature and type and form of the deformation.
After receiving this information, the specialist can determine what operation will be performed in this particular situation. Sometimes the diagnosis is applied rhinoscopy without the use of X-rays.
The main indications for surgical intervention to correct the nasal septum are obvious deformities, internal cysts, aneurysms in this area, or complaints of a sharp deterioration in the patient's well-being. In addition, an indication for surgery will disrupt the metabolism caused by oxygen starvation, frequent sinusitis, rhinitis, difficulty breathing through the nose and the transition to oral breathing.
In the case of curvature of the nasal septum, all the symptoms and diseases of the upper respiratory tract are very close to each other.
Difficulty breathing is associated with narrowing of the nasal cavity, which increases the likelihood of bacteria entering the nasal passages. For this reason, people suffering from sinusitis, rhinitis and other diseases in this region suffer from severe sinusitis, which is more chronic than others. All of the above diseases cause pain in the head and upper face. Such symptoms are a reason to consult a doctor immediately.
It is also possible to perform operations to restore the nasal septum with resections of the pituitary tumor. This is made possible by the use of transseptal transphenoidal access. A surgical procedure of this nature is also performed in cosmetic rhinoplasty, because in this case there is a need for donor cartilage, the source of which may be the nasal septum.
There are not many contraindications to such a surgical intervention. You cannot perform such an operation for pregnant women, nursing mothers who suffer from type 1 or type 2 diabetes mellitus, and those who have cancer.
It is also impossible to intervene with cocaine dependence, Wegener's granulomatosis, malignant lymphomas, and the proliferation of T and B cells with very large perforation of the septum. In this case, you can consult a doctor to correct the nasal septum using a laser.
Types of surgical interventions
If a sharp curvature of the nasal septum is detected, surgery is recommended as soon as possible. This will determine the patient's overall well-being and health in the future. In this case, the operation can be performed in two ways - with submucosal resection or endoscopic septoplasty.
The classic technique for correcting the nasal septum is submucosal resection. In this case, the surgeon cuts a small arch in front of the septal cartilage, tears the mucous membrane and then the curved cartilage. The cartilage is then removed from the perichondrium using a special tool, the parts that need to be repaired are removed, without affecting the top level of the cartilage.
The bone septum is removed using special tools, the top layer of mucous membrane, periosteum and perichondrium is fixed and straightened with cotton swabs. During this operation, no stitches will be applied to the face due to the ability of the operated tissues to recover quickly.
Deformed nasal septum can be treated in a more subtle way - with the help of endoscopic septoplasty.
This modern technique, which uses an intranasal endoscope, diagnoses deformed areas, their nature, and helps to remove everything unnecessary through micro-incisions in the mucous membrane. Along with an endoscope, this technique involves the use of microsurgical devices in addition to a computer monitor that reflects the entire process.
In modern medicine, both prefer to use the second method of surgery, although it is highly effective. Endoscopy helps prevent trauma, complications, and early recovery of all nasal functions.
Bleeding, hemorrhage, abscesses, abscesses and purulent sinusitis and deformation of the nasal mucosa are also possible due to complications and side effects from any intervention.
Shortly after the operation, it is necessary to wear tourniquets for support and recovery, as well as to put a corrective bandage on the nose. The patient can only breathe through the mouth until the fourth or fifth day, when nasal breathing can be restored.
During the entire postoperative period, the specialist monitors the patient, removes the blood clot and washes his nose. Doctors often prescribe painkillers to patients because they may have a sore nose. If there is a risk of wound infection, antibiotics are given. After discharge from the hospital, the patient should be monitored weekly by an otolaryngologist to monitor the wound healing process and restore nasal health. At the same time, you can not exercise and eat pepper until your doctor tells you to.
In addition to two surgical techniques to restore the nasal septum, there is also a laser method for non-surgical intervention. With laser septoplasty, the vessels are glued together when the mucous membrane is cut, so there is no need to apply sutures after such treatment. There is no need to stay in the hospital after this therapy, the operation itself is performed in an outpatient setting under local anesthesia. An hour after the laser correction, the patient can leave the walls of the hospital.