Septoplasty Recovery – Splint Removal

After 10 days, my nose finally stopped bleeding Wednesday night.  I still felt really swollen internally.  It was hard to breathe, and I was really looking forward to my splint removal.  I had absolutely no idea what to expect – pain?  Discomfort?  Relief?  Pain?

Thankfully, there was really no pain involved.  I’m not entirely sure what happened.  The doctor turned on a light at least as bright as the sun and positioned it directly over my eyes.  Thanks.  Next thing I knew he was fishing around in my nose.  It didn’t really hurt.  I *think* he removed some stitches.  That was the most discomfort I felt, and it really wasn’t uncomfortable – just pressure.   Then he did something else.  I’m not sure what.  It felt like there might have been two things in my nose and he removed the lower one from each nostril.  Don’t quote me on that, though, because I’m not really sure what happened.  Then the splints.

Splint removal was weird, reminding me very much of giving birth.  Totally bizarre!  It felt like he was pulling my insides out of my body through my nose – but not in a horridly uncomfortable way.  It felt good to get it out.  Just very much like delivery.  Through my nose.

My first breath after the splint removal was heaven!  Amazing!  My breathing was so free – both in comparison to breathing with the splints in but also in comparison to breathing before the surgery.  Apparently it will continue getting better for a number of weeks.  You have a fairly good idea what your nose will be like a month after surgery, but you can still have healing and a decrease in swelling up to 3 months after surgery.  I am not breathing through my right nostril as well as I am breathing through my left nostril, but this may change as I continue to heal and I’m also breathing relatively well through it even though it’s not as good.

Most of my pain is gone and the splint removal didn’t cause me to bleed again.  They told me not to blow my nose and asked me to come back next week for a quick check.

Overall I’m pretty pleased with the results, at least so far.  I’m not sure that all the suffering was worth it.  If I had been dealing with a severe breathing obstruction or chronic infections I might feel differently.  Also, I think the recovery would be easier for someone who is used to breathing primarily through his/her mouth.  Of course, that wouldn’t change the pain or drippiness, but it would make breathing less of an adjustment.  However, what’s done is done and I will certainly enjoy my “new nose.”