Does a Deviated Septum Need to Be Fixed?

You have just been to the doctor and were diagnosed with a deviated septum. You googled your condition online and came up with news that there are surgeries available to treat your deviated septum. Is surgery something you consider right away?

That depends on two things: the extent of the deviation and the severity of your symptoms.

According to the American Academy of Otolaryngology–Head and Neck Surgery, “the ideal nasal septum is exactly midline, separating the left and right sides of the nose into passageways of equal size.”

This ideal nasal septum is next to impossible because no one has a perfectly straight septum. In fact, most people have a deviated septum in one form or another and are just completely unaware that they have it.

What to Do If You Have Mild Deviation

If you have a deviated septum and it does not affect your breathing and sleeping in any way, it’s probably for the best to leave it alone. If you do experience mild symptoms, these can be treated using conservative treatments. Saline sprays help decrease inflammation, decongestants clear out the stuffiness, while antihistamines prevent allergic reactions from worsening.

However, if you are experiencing severe symptoms, then you need to talk to a Los Angeles sinus doctor and consider the possibility of getting surgery. An in-office medical procedure called septoplasty can be done to straighten out a severely deviated septum.

Septoplasty: How It Works

Sinus symptoms that affect the quality of life need to have a more aggressive treatment. This is where septoplasty comes in—it is a minimally invasive procedure with a very high success rate. The procedure only takes less than an hour to complete and only a couple of days to fully recover.

During septoplasty, a Los Angeles sinus doctor will make an incision inside the nose and will lift up the mucosa, a lining that covers up the septum. The doctor will be able to see the deviation clearly and remove any excess bone or cartilage to straighten out the septum. Once the septum has been repositioned in the middle of the nose, the doctor places the mucosa back into the septum.

What Do You Get Out of Septoplasty?

This procedure opens up the nasal passages and improves sinus drainage. The patient will also experience fewer instances of sinus symptoms such as nasal congestion, breathing difficulties, headaches, facial pains, and nose bleeding.

Another advantage to septoplasty is that it is done entirely through the nostrils, so that means the skin outside remains intact and the physical appearance of the nose remains unchanged.

If you are suffering from sinus-related health problems, the first step you need to do is to consult with our nasal surgeon Los Angeles. Just like any other medical procedure, there are certain risks involved in septoplasty. You may call or visit us here at the Los Angeles Sinus Institute to determine if you are a good candidate for a septoplasty procedure.