Your physician may have diagnosed you with a deviated nasal septum. This condition causes nasal airway obstruction. A septoplasty, a surgical procedure designed to straighten the nasal septum, may be performed to correct the obstruction.
This procedure is typically performed in the operating room under general anesthesia as an outpatient, meaning patients typically go home the same day of surgery.
During the procedure, your surgeon first raises the lining covering the septum to access the underlying cartilage and bone. This cartilage and bone can then be reshaped and removed as needed, taking care to leave adequate support for the nose, so its external appearance is not changed. The lining of the septum is then laid back down. Surgeons frequently use dissolvable stitches inside the nose.
For more information on what to expect after a septoplasty, please click on the following link to the Raleigh Capitol Ear, Nose & Throat web page.
