deviated septum…
when the nasal septum is significantly deviated to one side, making one nasal air passage smaller than the other.
Deviated Septum
WHAT IS a deviated septum?
There is a wall of cartilage that divides the nose into two separate chambers. This wall is called the “nasal septum”. A deviated septum exists when this wall, or the nasal septum, is shifted away from the midline. A deviated septum causes the nasal septum to be off-center, often making one nasal passage smaller than the other.
TYPES OF deviated septums:
There are several types of septal deviation classifications including Septal Crest, Cartilaginous Deviated Nose, High Septal Crest Deviation, and Caudally Inclined Septum.
What’s more important to the patient, however, is determining whether the deviation is considered mild, moderate or severe.
A mildy deviated septum may result in symptoms like an upper respiratory tract infection and snoring. Someone with a more severe deviation may develop chronic sinusitis or recurring nosebleeds that will continue until the problem is corrected surgically.
WHAT CAN CAUSE a deviated septum?
One can be born with a deviated septum, or it can be the result of an injury, or damage from past treatments.
Aging may also affect the nasal structures, worsening a deviated septum over time.
Swelling and irritation of the nasal cavities or sinus cavities due to an infection can also further narrow the nasal passage and result in nasal obstruction.
DIAGNOSIS & TREATMENT of a Deviated Septum
Deviated Septum SYMPTOMS
While many other people may not be able to tell that someone has a deviated septum by appearance, the most common symptom is trouble breathing through the nose, or through one side of the nose. You may also suffer from stuffiness, congestion, or a feeling of pressure in your nasal passages. A deviated septum can also impair normal drainage from the sinuses, sometimes leading to recurrent sinus infections. Nosebleeds, facial pain, noisy breathing during sleep (snoring), shifting of a nasal obstruction from one side to the other (called the “nasal cycle”), or disturbed sleep, due to not being able to breathe comfortably through one’s nose at night can all be symptoms of a deviated septum.
How is a Deviated Septum Diagnosed?
Along with discussing your health history, a rhinologist will do a physical exam that may also include a nasal speculum examination or nasal endoscopy. When needed, a CT scan of the nose may be done.
How is a Deviated Septum Treated?
To help alleviate nasal blockage or congestion caused by a deviated septum, medications can sometimes by used to reduce any swelling.
Depending upon the severity of your symptoms, and to actually correct the deviated septum, surgery may be advised. A “septoplasty” is a reconstructive plastic surgery that is performed to correct a deviated nasal septum. The procedure is done under local or general anesthesia and is performed through the nostrils, during which parts of the septum may be removed, or readjusted and reinserted into the nose.
In the past, nasal packings were routine for septoplasty and can be very painful during removal. However with modern techniques available now to control bleeding, we do not utilize routine packing. Instead we use hemostatic material which will dissolve on its own over a short period of time.