Can a C shaped deviated septum cause reduced smell on the opposite clearer nostril?

Dear DaxeUK;



If your septum is so bent that 90% of the right nostril
is blocked and causes a leaning to the left, you certainly deserve to
have surgery to improve it. Apparently
you have noticed that your smell is hindered, but apparently you noted that the
hindrance is on the right side rather than the side with the major septal
deflection. It is a little hard to
understand. Without an examination, I
would not want to venture a guess.



As far as being the first stages of Alzheimer’s, I cannot
comment on that, but depending on your age, you may worry less about that
possibility.



You need to do some good research to determine the best
possible alternative.



Finding
a good cosmetic plastic surgeon starts with a computer search of surgeons in
your (or distant) areas. Best results come from super-specialists (a medical,
not an advertising term) who do the procedure you want at least weekly and have
done it for at least a decade.



Once
you narrow in on the website of a surgeon who looks good to you, focus on the
before and after pictures, looking for patients who have had the procedure you
want. There should be dozens and dozens of such photos.



Many
good, plain language cosmetic plastic surgery books are on Amazon.com or
Barnes&Noble.com.

As
you read, write down questions that can be asked later in consultation with a
surgeon. We have two such books – Secrets of a Beverly Hills Cosmetic
Surgeon and The Essential Cosmetic Surgery Companion designed to
help with all the nuts and bolts of cosmetic plastic surgery consultations and provide
questions about both the before and after surgery experiences.

Your consultation will be extremely important because you
have a complex situation.



The
more before surgery consultations you go to, the more you’ll learn about your
procedure. Prepare a list of questions beforehand and take notes as the surgeon
talks. In the best practices, no interruptions should take place. And, you
should be spending more time with the surgeon than with the office
administrative staff. You should not feel rushed or that you are on a
consultation conveyer belt. Take a friend or relative along as two brains
are always better than one in gaining information and understanding. If you
hear a medical term you don’t understand, ask the surgeon to explain it in
plain English. Ask yourself two key questions: “Is this
surgeon teaching or selling?” And, can I put my life and my face into
this particular doctor’s hands? Can I trust him?”

I think your case may warrant seeking out a nasal
cosmetic surgery super-specialist.



In
modern medicine, knowledge about a particular specialty doubles every 18
months. No surgeon can master all 135-plus plastic
surgery procedures. In cosmetic facial surgery -- a subdivision of plastic
surgery -- a menu of just a half-dozen procedures is considered proper.
Such a narrow practice is the manner of the cosmetic surgery super-specialist.
That surgeon’s practice is more of a boutique than a department
store. Such cosmetic facial surgeons have generally served an additional
training period -- beyond board certification -- known as fellowship training. That surgeon, once he or she became a specialist, has
worked at the side of one or more Master Surgeons for a year,
studying and performing only several procedures. Fellowship is the
highest caliber credential available. Look for those who are
fellowship-trained and board certified.



Best wishes,
Robert
Kotler, MD, FACSBeverly Hills, California

A deviated septum is composed of twisted cartilage and bone in the back of the nose  that blocks airflow on one or both sides of the nose. Blockage of air flow through the nose blocks airflow from coming across the olfactory receptors high  in the nose, so a decreased sense of smell is normal with a deviated septum. A septoplasty is performed once medical necessity has been documented. The septoplasty procedure is performed as an outpatient surgical procedure under general anesthesia. A septoplasty will not change the shape of an external portion of the nose.