It has been almost 2 weeks since my septoplasty w/ SMR of my turbinates. I do feel a lot of air coming in but it feels like I'm breathing through a snorkel. It's loud and despite getting a lot of air I feel like I'm out of breath. It gets worse in the evening and has been effecting my quality of sleep. The air is dry and cold. Originally my breathing was a little blocked on one side due to an injury that took place a few months ago but it wasn't terrible. Is this ENS?
August 1, 2017
Answer: Empty nose syndrome ENS is controversial . Some specialists think its not a real entity or at the very least over diagnosed and can possibly be a psychological problem. I almost routinely if the inferior turbinates are enlarged when I am doing nasal surgery remove at least 30% of the inferior turbinates in various locations decided individually by endoscopic exam. Hardly ever touch the middle turbinates unless they a concha bullosa blocking the outflow of the sinuses and then will only take the lateral half. Never touch the superior turbinates unless forced to remove a posterior piece to get into the sphenoid sinus during sinus surgery. You are probably feeling all the air hitting the crusting inside your nose now. Once the crusting resolves and the nose heals things should get better. Hopefully you are not hearing a whistle from a septal perforation as that can be annoying. I have done 1000s of nasal surgeries over the last 25 years and my patients never complain about ENS and love all the airflow.
Helpful
August 1, 2017
Answer: Empty nose syndrome ENS is controversial . Some specialists think its not a real entity or at the very least over diagnosed and can possibly be a psychological problem. I almost routinely if the inferior turbinates are enlarged when I am doing nasal surgery remove at least 30% of the inferior turbinates in various locations decided individually by endoscopic exam. Hardly ever touch the middle turbinates unless they a concha bullosa blocking the outflow of the sinuses and then will only take the lateral half. Never touch the superior turbinates unless forced to remove a posterior piece to get into the sphenoid sinus during sinus surgery. You are probably feeling all the air hitting the crusting inside your nose now. Once the crusting resolves and the nose heals things should get better. Hopefully you are not hearing a whistle from a septal perforation as that can be annoying. I have done 1000s of nasal surgeries over the last 25 years and my patients never complain about ENS and love all the airflow.
Helpful
