On 2024.4.8, I had functional nose surgery (septoplasty, radiofrequency reduction of the inferior turbinates, and lateral osteotomy) + cosmetic nose surgery (support strut using septal cartilage, ear cartilage for the nasal tip, lowering the columella, a donated dermis dam around the columella because cartilage might show through, and hump osteotomy. I thought only the hump had been osteotomized, but the lateral sides were also osteotomized (both right and left, though the right side only very slightly)).
I didn’t want anything excessive; I just wanted a smooth nose without the hump that had been a complex for me since I was young. While looking through reviews, I saw a surgery case with a nose similar to mine, so I decided on that hospital in Apgujeong. It was a plastic surgery clinic run by an ENT specialist, with one director, and he spoke well on YouTube too, so I trusted him.
I had lived without knowing my septum was deviated or that I had rhinitis, but they said my septum was deviated and they would straighten it. I thought it would be better to straighten it than to have the nasal tip extended later and then have it bend from the weight, so I did it together (and they said it would be covered by private insurance anyway).
After surgery, I wasn’t greedy about the shape, so I was satisfied just not having a hump. But from about one month after surgery, only the right side first started feeling like it was blocked, and it felt like I was breathing right:left = about 10:5.
Then it became extremely dry and felt like the mucous membrane was being damaged, so I went to two ENT clinics near my home and also went back to the hospital where I had surgery. They said there was nothing structurally problematic on CT and endoscopy, but my symptoms became so severe that while searching, I found a cafe about empty nose syndrome. My symptoms were similar, and since I had functional surgery too, I felt so anxious I was going crazy because the treatment methods are uncertain..
But even the members there said that structurally it didn’t seem like empty nose syndrome, so what I thought of was: Could it be nasal valve stenosis, or narrowing of the airway due to internal scar tissue inside the nasal bridge?
My nose is also so hard and uncomfortable that I’m considering total removal surgery, but I’m wondering if anyone has the same symptoms as me..
The symptoms appear on only one side, and when I press on my nose externally, it feels like there is a lot of scar tissue? The swelling went down really quickly I have oily skin with a lot of sebum, and I think my skin is also thick.. If it’s because of internal scar tissue, will it get a bit better once it softens…
Honestly, I want total removal, but if my breathing still doesn’t improve after that, that’s scary too. Nasal valve reconstruction is scary too. If it’s just scar tissue narrowing the upper airway, then it might loosen later, so I could have some hope, but I had so many different procedures done that it’s hard to find the exact cause.
Is there anyone who, like me, has symptoms after nose surgery such as dryness inside the nose, no runny nose, postnasal drip, and air entering without resistance because there is no mucus, due to internal nasal scar tissue or nasal valve stenosis?
And strangely, when I sleep lying on my left side so that the blocked side of my nose (right nostril) is facing upward, my nose opens up. If I block the unblocked left nostril and blow through the right nostril with a “hmph,” sometimes there is a sticking-separating sound. I thought that was the septum and turbinate sticking together and then separating, but recently I started thinking it seems like the mucous membrane inside the nasal bridge is separating.. So that’s why I thought the cause might be nasal valve stenosis or scar tissue.. But I’m not sure whether this is related to my symptoms.. I want to know the cause
Also, strangely, when I received the pre/post-op nose photos taken at the hospital and looked at them, after surgery the nostril sizes were completely uneven?? But maybe the swelling went down or something, because when I take photos with my phone, the asymmetry isn’t severe.