Hi Dr. Hauser,
I went to see an ENT because I have been having trouble breathing out of one nostril. He diagnosed me as having nasal valve collapse due to one side of my nose contracting too much when I breathe (the consequence of a botched rhinoplasty). He said that the appropriate treatment for my problem is a cartilage graft to the side of my nose (alar batten graft), but because this is a complicated surgery requiring general anesthesia and a recovery period, he suggested I first try turbinate somnoplasty. His reasoning was that turbinate reduction might create enough extra space in the nostril that I'll be able to inhale normally, even without correcting the collapsing nasal wall. Because of all the complications that can arise from turbinate surgery (e.g., ENS), I'm extremely hesitant to try the somnoplasty (even though it might relieve my breathing problems). I also don't know if it's safe to do the somnoplasty when I don't actually have enlarged turbinates and the surgeon would essentially be shrinking the turbinates to below normal size. What do you think?
Thank you very much.
I went to see an ENT because I have been having trouble breathing out of one nostril. He diagnosed me as having nasal valve collapse due to one side of my nose contracting too much when I breathe (the consequence of a botched rhinoplasty). He said that the appropriate treatment for my problem is a cartilage graft to the side of my nose (alar batten graft), but because this is a complicated surgery requiring general anesthesia and a recovery period, he suggested I first try turbinate somnoplasty. His reasoning was that turbinate reduction might create enough extra space in the nostril that I'll be able to inhale normally, even without correcting the collapsing nasal wall. Because of all the complications that can arise from turbinate surgery (e.g., ENS), I'm extremely hesitant to try the somnoplasty (even though it might relieve my breathing problems). I also don't know if it's safe to do the somnoplasty when I don't actually have enlarged turbinates and the surgeon would essentially be shrinking the turbinates to below normal size. What do you think?
Thank you very much.
