POSTED UNDER Septoplasty Reviews
Septoplasty (Deviated Septum) & Bilteral Turbinectomy (Submucous Resection) W/ Genioplasty - Washington, DC
ORIGINAL POST
After moving to DC I began to suffer recurring...
WORTH IT$8,000
After moving to DC I began to suffer recurring sinus infections- about 1 every other month or so. Symptoms between infections aligned w/allergies/rhinitis, but after 2.5 yrs, 4 specialists, 3mo high-dose antibiotic therapy, 3-4 rounds of injectable skin/blood allergy tests, 4 CT scans, steroids (spray & pill), wasted time & money trying just about every anti-histamine known both OTC/Rx, I vowed to stop torturing myself & simply try to live w/ it. Until I couldn't anymore. That's when I decided to make an appt. w/ Dr. Chaboki & booked a surgery within 2 weeks (see Doc review). Surgery is ~3 hours long (depending on what you're getting) so for me: 1hr septum (note: this is NOT a rhinoplasty- it's a septoplasty) & ~1hr turbinate reduction/submucous resection PER side. Also, I had a minor procedure done, ~30min, while I was under- a genioplasty- to help correct recessive lower jaw (always had it, felt it was worsened after an accident w/head trauma) aesthetics (accident again) for proportion/smoothness. Very simple & quick. Because surgery length, you'll be intubated. My teeth did ache afterward & lips/gums were a bit swollen/dry afterwards from biting down on tube. But, totally manageable. I spent ~1.5-2hrs in pre-op, given IV lorazepam to keep calm/collected (severe GAD sufferer, mild-moderate PTSD from past med procedures too. Highly recommend if you're a nervous wreck like me.) I was changed, given some highly attractive OR socks, & settled in to read w/ my IV until time. You typically can't have your sig. other w/ you in pre-op, so at this point, you're alone w/other patients & medical staff. When it was time, Dr. Chaboki came to get me. He exuded confidence & friendliness which kept me happy. He marked up chin/nose & examined breathing & led me to OR. I yelled out to nurses to hide everything from me (though, thank god, lorazepam is quite a savior here). 3.5hrs later, I was waking up in recovery, SOMEHOW eating graham crackers & sloppily drinking cranberry juice. Nurse was monitoring me. Due to a past history w/ general anesthesia, like waking up during surgery & horrific side-effects post-surgery, I was pleasantly surprised to discovery that no, I did NOT feel like throwing up my entire stomach. They'd pumped me full of Zofran (thank god!) ~2hrs later I was changed & wheeled out to my boyfriend- it was all executed perfectly. I had detailed post-op info & Dr. Chaboki's cell. He called that night to check in.
Obviously, you're given steroids & nice narcotic pain meds to keep you comfy. Take them & ask your doc if you think you need a higher dose. I have weird body chemistry w/meds which I'm currently having tested, & the pain meds weren't enough for me, so we switched to Percoset. My motto is, a comfortable patient is a happy patient is a fast-healing patient. Fact. Now. First 24hrs I was impatient because I had surgical packing up my nose. I HAD to keep Aquifor/Vaseline next to me. Good news is, it's just 1 night, you can do it! Breathing out of mouth sucks (at least, for me!) but it all comes out next morning. Changed gauze at end of nose a couple times, it was quite bloody post-op but totally normal. My chin was swollen & a teeny bit bruised. Nose was tender but fine on meds.
Next morning was packing removal & it was life-changing. Was terrified, but it doesn't hurt- not at all. Coated in a non-stick material & quite honestly, fascinating. My boyfriend said it wasn't the sexiest thing ever, but we both couldn't help but stare at the 6in of used packing. If your bf can sit & watch that come outta your nose, that's true love, ladies. Anyway, for the first time in my life, I could breathe. Easily, Openly. Wonderfully. Fully. It was absolutely INCREDIBLE & I was in complete & utter shock. So this is why breathing in air is a big deal! It's fantastic. I couldn't have been happier in that moment. Stitches in nose weren't visible unless looking up in a mirror. Dr. Chaboli throughly & gently cleaned everything out. It's not uncomfortable at all! Packing was out, but splints remain at back of nose to support new septum & nasal anatomy structure for healing. You can't feel them, don't worry. It's comfortable.
Wound care, ointment application & pain meds were easy. Nothing was gory or gross- in fact, it was nothing like I imagined & I was pleasantly surprised, nothing super gross or scary happened. I just sat in my apartment for days watching TV on Percocet & sleeping a lot, which is totally natural & good for you. I could tell my body was healing nicely. My personal tip here is to ensure you drink PLENTY of water; I was too dry, was obvious from my skin drying out & dry mouth. You've got to keep your body in tip-top shape w/ hydration & nutrition- it honestly helps you heal faster & better. The breathing was excellent although there was, as I was told, some rebound swelling as the packing was no longer holding things at bay. Nevertheless, it was far better breathing than before surgery.
You have 1-2 follow-up appts the week after surgery, then 1x/week for a few weeks. At week 2 or 3, the splints were removed from my nose. Also completely pain-free, no discomfort, just feels odd, like a giant snotball coming out (we've all had colds like that, don't pretend you don't know what I'm talking about here!) I was diligent w/ wound care & meds, so healing was accelerated & smooth. ONE thing that happened is that I lost my nose stitches early. That can actually be a good sign though- I was healing very fast & my immune system was actually fighting for the first time in years- & commonly this means stitches are "pushed out" by the body. Just monitor very closely if you think this is happening to you. I told Dr. Chaboki, I checked in there w/ boyfriend multiple times a day (again, true love!) & when one morning ALL my stitches suddenly undid, I had to remove them myself (they had untied, were hanging out of my nose.) HOWEVER- I was at the END of the suture healing period & was about 4 days from having them removed. I could CLEARLY see that I could remove them & have no issues, & there was no discomfort but I'd honestly say, just run in to your doc & let him/her do it. I went to see him a couple hrs later & was told everything was fine, no stitches needed to go back in & to remain diligent with hygiene, saline spray & ointment application. DON'T blow your nose. DON'T sniff too hard- try not to sniff at all if you can. You have to be very careful not to let anything bump your nose and/or chin. My 9mo old puppy did a few times- ouch. Now, that does hurt, but it's just more of a shock than pain, & the sensitivity lowers over the days & weeks. I had minimal bruising, my chin sutures (dissolvable) were all intact & swelling was going down very fast- not evenly, but fast & this is to do w/ where the deepest part of the pocket is made during a genioplasty. Still had mild yellowish bruising & numbness from the dental block given during surgery. I'm now 5 weeks post-op, the scar isn't noticeable unless you look for it- it's healing nicely from keeping it covered for 2 weeks & then placing vaseline on it daily per Dr. Chaboki's instructions. One freaky thing here is that one of the internal genioplasty stitches (these dissolve at a different rate) has probably popped out- it's a harder material because it's suturing muscles onto the muscle/fascia of chin bone, & I've been forewarned that it MAY make its way OUT through my skin. This is another totally normal post-op thing, & it's simply an immune system reaction to ridding the body of a foreign object while healing. It will go away he says, and I believe him! It's just a question of whether my body pushes it out before it has dissolved. I think at this point, it's just going to dissolve.
I do still have, at 5wks post-op, some lack of feeling (not numb, just not sensitive at all) in my chin, but this is normal. It takes up to a year to heal, including your nerves- you have a major nerve type running around your jaw bone, & it is moved & possibly stretched, tightened or inflamed during & after surgery. While slightly annoying in the beginning because I was chomping down on my lip all the time which made it swell a bit and dry up, there's really no big deal here.
As I regained jaw and face movement, there was mild nerve discomfort as things continued to heal. I could feel a never twinging every time I did my exercises of open/close jaw, massaging, etc., & during eating & drinking, but it was all mild.
Unfortunately, I did catch cold & develop a fairly bad sinus infection & cough about 4 weeks after surgery. I was a new person, I was almost completely healed on the surface, I couldn't even tell through the illness that I'd just had surgery. Best part was that I was able to blow everything out of my nose. For the first time in my life, I was able to get everything out with neti-pot and gentle blowing, whereas before, the infection would live on & rebound & worsen because there was no drainage out of my nose because of chronic inflammation. This period was absolutely disgusting but fascinating as there was a shocking amount of awfully-gross colored phlegm making way out of my nose. Brilliant. Couple weeks after kicking that, I caught another bad cold/cough, but so far, it has NOT turned into a sinus infection which is the first time in YEARS that a cold hasn't ended up turning into a major sinus/ear/throat infection. This is absolutely incredible news for me. Aethetically from the genioplasty, I'm happy. My proportions are better & smoother.
I will add information through the healing process- though I have considered myself all healed since week 3, the fully healing process does take up to 1 full year for everything to absolutely settle into place & begin functioning normally. Please ask me any & all questions- there's no such thing as TMI with me. If you have any question, no matter how personal or gross, please ask! I truly want for others to experience this sort of positive life-changing event, too. I went from helpless, hopeless and sickly to fixed, hopeful and on the mend. I would do it all over again a dozen times if I had to. I can't speak more highly of my surgeon & my results. As far as cost, this is still being finalized w/insurance & hospital, but it's nothing above the ordinary- it's very reasonable- and it's medically necessary (not genioplasty but septo and turbinectomy, in my case.)
Obviously, you're given steroids & nice narcotic pain meds to keep you comfy. Take them & ask your doc if you think you need a higher dose. I have weird body chemistry w/meds which I'm currently having tested, & the pain meds weren't enough for me, so we switched to Percoset. My motto is, a comfortable patient is a happy patient is a fast-healing patient. Fact. Now. First 24hrs I was impatient because I had surgical packing up my nose. I HAD to keep Aquifor/Vaseline next to me. Good news is, it's just 1 night, you can do it! Breathing out of mouth sucks (at least, for me!) but it all comes out next morning. Changed gauze at end of nose a couple times, it was quite bloody post-op but totally normal. My chin was swollen & a teeny bit bruised. Nose was tender but fine on meds.
Next morning was packing removal & it was life-changing. Was terrified, but it doesn't hurt- not at all. Coated in a non-stick material & quite honestly, fascinating. My boyfriend said it wasn't the sexiest thing ever, but we both couldn't help but stare at the 6in of used packing. If your bf can sit & watch that come outta your nose, that's true love, ladies. Anyway, for the first time in my life, I could breathe. Easily, Openly. Wonderfully. Fully. It was absolutely INCREDIBLE & I was in complete & utter shock. So this is why breathing in air is a big deal! It's fantastic. I couldn't have been happier in that moment. Stitches in nose weren't visible unless looking up in a mirror. Dr. Chaboli throughly & gently cleaned everything out. It's not uncomfortable at all! Packing was out, but splints remain at back of nose to support new septum & nasal anatomy structure for healing. You can't feel them, don't worry. It's comfortable.
Wound care, ointment application & pain meds were easy. Nothing was gory or gross- in fact, it was nothing like I imagined & I was pleasantly surprised, nothing super gross or scary happened. I just sat in my apartment for days watching TV on Percocet & sleeping a lot, which is totally natural & good for you. I could tell my body was healing nicely. My personal tip here is to ensure you drink PLENTY of water; I was too dry, was obvious from my skin drying out & dry mouth. You've got to keep your body in tip-top shape w/ hydration & nutrition- it honestly helps you heal faster & better. The breathing was excellent although there was, as I was told, some rebound swelling as the packing was no longer holding things at bay. Nevertheless, it was far better breathing than before surgery.
You have 1-2 follow-up appts the week after surgery, then 1x/week for a few weeks. At week 2 or 3, the splints were removed from my nose. Also completely pain-free, no discomfort, just feels odd, like a giant snotball coming out (we've all had colds like that, don't pretend you don't know what I'm talking about here!) I was diligent w/ wound care & meds, so healing was accelerated & smooth. ONE thing that happened is that I lost my nose stitches early. That can actually be a good sign though- I was healing very fast & my immune system was actually fighting for the first time in years- & commonly this means stitches are "pushed out" by the body. Just monitor very closely if you think this is happening to you. I told Dr. Chaboki, I checked in there w/ boyfriend multiple times a day (again, true love!) & when one morning ALL my stitches suddenly undid, I had to remove them myself (they had untied, were hanging out of my nose.) HOWEVER- I was at the END of the suture healing period & was about 4 days from having them removed. I could CLEARLY see that I could remove them & have no issues, & there was no discomfort but I'd honestly say, just run in to your doc & let him/her do it. I went to see him a couple hrs later & was told everything was fine, no stitches needed to go back in & to remain diligent with hygiene, saline spray & ointment application. DON'T blow your nose. DON'T sniff too hard- try not to sniff at all if you can. You have to be very careful not to let anything bump your nose and/or chin. My 9mo old puppy did a few times- ouch. Now, that does hurt, but it's just more of a shock than pain, & the sensitivity lowers over the days & weeks. I had minimal bruising, my chin sutures (dissolvable) were all intact & swelling was going down very fast- not evenly, but fast & this is to do w/ where the deepest part of the pocket is made during a genioplasty. Still had mild yellowish bruising & numbness from the dental block given during surgery. I'm now 5 weeks post-op, the scar isn't noticeable unless you look for it- it's healing nicely from keeping it covered for 2 weeks & then placing vaseline on it daily per Dr. Chaboki's instructions. One freaky thing here is that one of the internal genioplasty stitches (these dissolve at a different rate) has probably popped out- it's a harder material because it's suturing muscles onto the muscle/fascia of chin bone, & I've been forewarned that it MAY make its way OUT through my skin. This is another totally normal post-op thing, & it's simply an immune system reaction to ridding the body of a foreign object while healing. It will go away he says, and I believe him! It's just a question of whether my body pushes it out before it has dissolved. I think at this point, it's just going to dissolve.
I do still have, at 5wks post-op, some lack of feeling (not numb, just not sensitive at all) in my chin, but this is normal. It takes up to a year to heal, including your nerves- you have a major nerve type running around your jaw bone, & it is moved & possibly stretched, tightened or inflamed during & after surgery. While slightly annoying in the beginning because I was chomping down on my lip all the time which made it swell a bit and dry up, there's really no big deal here.
As I regained jaw and face movement, there was mild nerve discomfort as things continued to heal. I could feel a never twinging every time I did my exercises of open/close jaw, massaging, etc., & during eating & drinking, but it was all mild.
Unfortunately, I did catch cold & develop a fairly bad sinus infection & cough about 4 weeks after surgery. I was a new person, I was almost completely healed on the surface, I couldn't even tell through the illness that I'd just had surgery. Best part was that I was able to blow everything out of my nose. For the first time in my life, I was able to get everything out with neti-pot and gentle blowing, whereas before, the infection would live on & rebound & worsen because there was no drainage out of my nose because of chronic inflammation. This period was absolutely disgusting but fascinating as there was a shocking amount of awfully-gross colored phlegm making way out of my nose. Brilliant. Couple weeks after kicking that, I caught another bad cold/cough, but so far, it has NOT turned into a sinus infection which is the first time in YEARS that a cold hasn't ended up turning into a major sinus/ear/throat infection. This is absolutely incredible news for me. Aethetically from the genioplasty, I'm happy. My proportions are better & smoother.
I will add information through the healing process- though I have considered myself all healed since week 3, the fully healing process does take up to 1 full year for everything to absolutely settle into place & begin functioning normally. Please ask me any & all questions- there's no such thing as TMI with me. If you have any question, no matter how personal or gross, please ask! I truly want for others to experience this sort of positive life-changing event, too. I went from helpless, hopeless and sickly to fixed, hopeful and on the mend. I would do it all over again a dozen times if I had to. I can't speak more highly of my surgeon & my results. As far as cost, this is still being finalized w/insurance & hospital, but it's nothing above the ordinary- it's very reasonable- and it's medically necessary (not genioplasty but septo and turbinectomy, in my case.)
cpm8046's provider
True love, indeed! Thank you for your comprehensive review. It is very appreciated and I'm glad you are happy! :)