Typical Deviated Septum Makes the Nose Lean to His Right.
Dan, a Detroit weekend athlete, broke his nose seven years ago. Since, his nose has been stuffy while every winter month produces head colds. And if you talked to his wife, chances are excellent she has been kept awake by Dan’s buzz-saw snoring.
The problem: the broken nose pushed his septum into a breathing channel in his nose. As you probably know, the septum is the thin, flexible wall dividing your nose into two chambers.
Because it seems so insignificant, people suffering from a displaced septum tend to discount its important. After all, you can’t really see a septum, can you?
But mighty oaks from small acorns grow. (Continued below.)
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In the patient below, note his left nostril is almost completely blocked. Deviated septum surgery, plus rhinoplasty, all done through the nostrils created a better looking nose and clear breathing and drainage channels. (Robert Kotler, MD, photo)
Deviated Septum
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(Continued) A seriously displaced, or deviated, septum has profound effects on your life and health.
Take breathing for starters. A deviated septum restricts the flow of air taken in and really rears its ugly head nightly in a struggle to breathe. The horrible racket of snoring results from a fight for breath.
With less air and oxygen, every organ in the body suffers. Hear that, married men? Every organ.
Sometimes, people who can’t get enough air are assigned a facial mask/air pump, medically known as a CPAP (continuous positive air pressure) to force more air into the lungs. (Read more about nose woes and CPAP.)
The nose with a deviated septum also can’t drain properly. That traps germs in the upper nose leading to constant head colds and what seems like persistent sinus infections. (More on deviated septum surgery.)
Often in matters of the nose, as the septum goes, so goes the nose. So if the septum is bent, twisted, out of place or blocking air, the outside of the nose is probably bent, unattractive and calling attention to itself.
What to do? The most appropriate medical specialist to diagnose a deviated septum and repair it, along with other things nasal is an Ear, Nose and Throat (ENT) specialist, medically known as an otolargyngolist.
If trained and experienced in nasal surgery, that doctor can do one-stop repair. That surgeon is well equipped to repair the septum in an operation known as a septoplasty. Plus, he or she can also fix the outside appearance of your nose via cosmetic surgery.
When both procedures are done in a single surgical session, the operation is known as a septorhinoplasty.