Will septoplasty straighten nose or will it make it harder to straighten my nose later in life when I can afford it?

This is a very important question.   Understand the following facts will be helpful for you in your decision making process. A septoplasty along generally means removing bent portions of cartilage farther back in the nose.  This can improve breathing but doesn't guarantee that the nose will be straight afterwards.A good rhinoplasty often involves taking that cartilage to help rebuild the rest of the nose to improve its shape and even its function.If the septoplasty is done without the rhinoplasty that cartilage will not be available when needed fro the rhinoplasty - as you noted in your text.You also noted that your are most concerned with breathing but also with straightening your nose.  While a routine septoplasty might not straighten your nose combining it with a procedure called correction of nasal vestibular stenosis is more likely to achieve that goal.  And that is covered by insurance.  It would substantially change the rest of the appearance of your nose though.I see you are in San Marcos.  If you are interested in talking about this schedule a consultation - I am in Ausitn 512-324-2765

A septoplasty operation involves removing nasal septal cartilage to alleviate obstruction. If significant obstruction is present, then most of the cartilage may be removed. A rhinoplasty operation to correct a deviated or crooked nose can still be accomplished at a later period of time, but may involve needing cartilage from the ear or rib cartilage. A consideration would be to have both the septoplasty performed at the same time as a rhinoplatsy to improve breathing and correct the deviation in the external nose. 

Chronic sinusitis must first be documented with a CAT scan of the sinuses looking for sinus polyps which cause headaches, facial pain, pressure, and repetitive sinus infections. A septoplasty is performed to remove obstructing cartilage and bone in the back of the nose when it's blocking air flow. Make sure you tell your surgeon  that you are contemplating a rhinoplasty so that they preserve the excess cartilage and only remove bone in the back of the nose. A septoplasty will not change the shape of the nose. Also important to make sure there is not other issues creating nasal obstruction such as valve collapse, allergies, turbinate hypertrophy. For more information, diagrams and our rhinoplasty photos  gallery, please see the link below

A septoplasty and inferior turbinate reduction will improve breathing in many cases. This procedure will not change the external appearance of your nose, however. If you have a conservative septoplasty now, this shouldn't interfere with a rhinoplasty in the future. I hope this information is helpful for you.Stephen Weber MD, FACSDenver Facial Plastic Surgeon

If you have a crooked nose, then it would make sense to do it at the same time.  Best of luck to pursue the procedure.

The answer depends on the appearance of your nose. It is always better to do the septal and cosmetic work at the same time. Find out exactly what will be done during your operation. Perhaps your surgeon will straighten your nose as part of the septoplasty. Make sure that your ENT is also a rhinoplasty specialist - not all do cosmetic work. Cost is important to all of us but don't make your decision solely on the basis of this parameter. Having two operations will ultimately cost more.