Septal Perforation. Could the hole be causing fall outs, headaches, teeth pain and ear pain?

Question

After septoplasty I was left with a perforation which is lower down and not going to cause collapsed nose (so i have been told) however although i dont have stuffiness/whistling i do sometimes get blood & an uncomfortable flapping feeling in my nose. It feels like too much air gets into my nose which makes it dry, my nose never runs except for occasional clear non smelly water substance which just falls out, also bad headaches with top teeth pain and ear pain, could the hole be causing these?

Anil R. Shah, MD · Answer

Hello, Septal perforation repair is one of the most difficult procedures to perform. 
I developed a procedure to repair large septal perforations utilizing a pericranial flap.  The use of this flap can help close larger perforations.  Here are some methods of closure of septal perforation based on size:
-Small (pinpoint)- not advised to fix small perforations, especially asymptomatic perforations that are stable.  These should be observed.  The risk of the procedure of increasing size after repair
-Medium perforations- The use of a variety of techniques can be employed such as sliding flaps (can only repair perforations reliably at 1.5 cm), turbinate flaps (smaller perforations), and endoscopic rotational flaps (less than 1.5 cm) can be utilized.
-Large perforations- The use of pericranial flaps (see above) and free flaps (requires ICU stay) are the only 2 options.  I have had great success utilizing pericranial technique (see video below) to repair septal perforations.

Best, 
Anil Shah MD

Matthew Bridges, MD, FACS · Answer

It is possible that your symptoms could be related to the septal perforation.  You should seek out an expert in septal perforation repair to be evaulated.

Septal Perforation. Could the hole be causing fall outs, headaches, teeth pain and ear pain?

Answers (2)