Specialist in Septoplasty Surgery

Internal nasal surgery to correct a deviated septum is called septoplasty.  The root words are “septum” which means partition and “plasty” which means changing form or shape.

The object of a nasal septoplasty is to correct a deformed, crooked or perhaps broken nasal septum which is blocking the airway.  The end game is to make it straighter with fewer curves, baffles, angles, all of which contribute to blocking the airflow. 

It takes considerable skill and dexterity to do an operation entirely through the nostrils.  One has to conduct the operation with the same steps that are done in any operation:  There is an incision, there is work that has to be done, then the wound has to be closed and stitches placed to assure satisfactory healing.  Yet all this must be done through the nostrils; as if the surgeon is operating through a keyhole.  Often the nasal septoplasty is accompanied by reduction of the turbinates.  The turbinates, numbering three within each nasal passage, add to the surface area of the nasal interior and, therefore, multiply the humidification, purification, and warming functions of the inside of the nose.  Some turbinates become too large, particularly the inferior turbinate, or lowest turbinate, and when the turbinate becomes enlarged from allergy or even other unknown stimuli, it is necessary to reduce the size.  This can be done by many means, including standard surgical excision or laser treatment or other means to reduce the bulk. 

Since airflow through the nose is related to the fourth power of the radius of the air passage (Poiseuille’s law, well known to students of physics), a slight increase in the functional diameter of the nose by relieving the blockages yields a huge differential increase in air flow.

It behooves the patient who is consulting for cosmetic nasal surgery to ask the surgeon to evaluate the breathing.  It makes sense to correct the blocked nose at the same time that one is having cosmetic nasal surgery or rhinoplasty.   Why not have two operations at the same sitting with one anesthetic and have the economy of one recovery period and, often, you can save considerable money since the second and third procedures when added on to the primary procedure are generally significantly discounted by the surgeon’s office.