I had surgery on my deviated septum 5 days ago. Today I pulled out a string while clearing dried blood. Is this a problem?

From the image you provided, it appears to be a dissolvable suture that you removed from your nose. This should not be a problem as these will often come out on their own during your healing process. I recommend that you inform your surgeon of this just to be safe at your next followup appointment.Hope this helps.Dr. Ali Sajjadian

It looks like a piece of dissolvable suture came out of your nose while you were cleaning it. That's normal to occur over the first few weeks after surgery. The sutures normally come out in smaller segments as the body resorbs the sections that are in the skin itself.

During the repair of a deviated septum, the deviated cartilage and bone is removed.  To bring the tissues inside of the nose back together, sutures are used.  The string you pulled out was a dissoluble suture.  It is not uncommon for sutures to come out 5 days after surgery.  I would let your facial plastic surgeon know and your follow up appointment.  He will look inside of your nose to ensure you are healing properly.  

Hi as,Next time find a surgeon who will treat  you with no strings attached!  Nothing to be concerned about, it is an absorbable suture.  Let your surgeon know when you speak with him/her.Good luck and be well.Dr. P

This is a suture used in the septal internal skin repair.  It is not uncommon for a suture or two to come untied inside. It should not hurt the result.  The sutures are tied firmly but not really tight, to avoid constriction of the tissues.  They tend to melt or absorb and loosen on their own over days to weeks after surgery. This suture may have been stuck to the scab and dried blood and then got detached when cleaning the nose. I do urge you to always contact your surgeon and not be so quick to get outside advice. I know it might have been a surprise and it frightened you.   I often do not use packing for a simple septoplasty, and from time to time a few crusts can build up that need to be cleaned. You did the right thing with a light touch from the Q tip and appear to be following the instructions properly. Let the surgeon know of your experience but that you are clearing the dried blood and breathing easier.