I have a septal perforation most likely from use of nasal steroids. The hole is in the anterior of the nose and small: 3mm. It causes constant whistling. In August 2014 I had surgery to repair the hole but in October the perforation reappeared. An ENT told me that a nasal button would not help me because my perforation is too small for a button to fit in it, plus a button in the anterior would obstruct breathing. True? Can I stop the whistling?
November 24, 2014
Answer: I have a 3mm nasal perforation in the anterior of my nose. Can a nasal button help me? If not what can stop the whistling? There are some positive and negative aspects here. The negative is that the perforation persists following an attempt to correct it, but the positive is that it is smaller and only 3 mm in size. A small perforation can be very often surgically closed, but you would need to wait before attempting the same procedure to close it, because, if performed to soon, it can actually make the perforation larger. Small conservative measures, such as debridement and occasional application of chemical ablative agents such as silver nitrate can sometimes induce enough mucosal inflammation to close the hole; but they too occasionally can enlarge the opening. I personally would recommend waiting 6-12 months and re-attempting closure simply by elevating the mucosa and placing a fascia graft to serve as a scaffold for growth of the mucosa. If the tissues are too scarred to close, then borrowing mucosa from the side of your nose would be another, more complex, method to close the hole. Either way, rest assured, it can be ultimately be closed. Best of luck :)
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November 24, 2014
Answer: I have a 3mm nasal perforation in the anterior of my nose. Can a nasal button help me? If not what can stop the whistling? There are some positive and negative aspects here. The negative is that the perforation persists following an attempt to correct it, but the positive is that it is smaller and only 3 mm in size. A small perforation can be very often surgically closed, but you would need to wait before attempting the same procedure to close it, because, if performed to soon, it can actually make the perforation larger. Small conservative measures, such as debridement and occasional application of chemical ablative agents such as silver nitrate can sometimes induce enough mucosal inflammation to close the hole; but they too occasionally can enlarge the opening. I personally would recommend waiting 6-12 months and re-attempting closure simply by elevating the mucosa and placing a fascia graft to serve as a scaffold for growth of the mucosa. If the tissues are too scarred to close, then borrowing mucosa from the side of your nose would be another, more complex, method to close the hole. Either way, rest assured, it can be ultimately be closed. Best of luck :)
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November 22, 2014
Answer: Septal Perforation I agree with my colleagues. You willneed to find a Facial Plastic Surgeon with experience in closing septal perforations. They can be challenging but yours is relatively small so I would think the odds of permaent repair should be better than 50% . Do you know the cause of the perforation? That sometimes plays a role.
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November 22, 2014
Answer: Septal Perforation I agree with my colleagues. You willneed to find a Facial Plastic Surgeon with experience in closing septal perforations. They can be challenging but yours is relatively small so I would think the odds of permaent repair should be better than 50% . Do you know the cause of the perforation? That sometimes plays a role.
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