The first two weeks of recovery

This is an account of my experience of extracorporeal septoplasty surgery. If you have reached this page because you’re thinking about going in for septoplasty, bear in mind that what I had was a particular type of septoplasty which involves the septum being completely removed, straightened and grafted back in. Don’t read this if you’re very squeamish.

The background is that I had a severely deviated septum, caused by my nose being broken at some point in my childhood. Although I don’t know when it happened I can narrow it down to a small number of incidents involving being hit. For most of my adult life this has made breathing through my nose a bit of a challenge sometimes. There was a reasonably good air passage in my right nostril but almost none in my left. As the turbinates in my nostrils opened and closed over the course of the day and night, I would either be able to breathe through my nose quite easily (through my right nostril) or not at all. I could sometimes get some air to pass through my left nostril by pulling on my cheek and I managed to find a sleeping position that allowed this although it didn’t always work. I often woke up with a very dry mouth and sometimes it got in the way of a good night’s sleep.

The other background information to share with you is that I’m a 47 year old male living in the UK who is reasonably fit and doesn’t smoke or drink. I also practice vipassana (or insight) meditation, which basically involves cultivating mindful awareness of the present moment, including noticing your breath and sensations in the body. This has helped a lot with the whole experience.   

The ear nose & throat (ENT) surgeon that I saw said he could do a ‘conventional’ septoplasty and it might work but as my septum was so deviated it might not have great results. He recommended extracorporeal septoplasty which, although it was a longer operation, had a good success rate. The other deciding factor was that if I went for ‘conventional’ septoplasty first time round and it didn’t work, it would make the grafting more complicated next time if I went back for extracorporeal septoplasty. I decided to go straight for the extracorporeal kind.

Day 1 – Monday

No breakfast and just a glass of water at 6 a.m. My wife takes me to the hospital for 8 a.m. and I get admitted to the ward. I’m expecting a lot of waiting around but it turns out that I’m first on, so by about 9 a.m. they are wheeling me into the anaesthetic room. Suddenly it starts to feel very real and I feel a rush of anxiety.

I wake up feeling very seedy and aware of a big splint thing stuck to my face. My mouth feels horribly dry and I ask for some water. They take me up to the ward and prop me up in the bed. I want to take a sip of water every couple of minutes as my mouth feels horrible. It doesn’t feel particularly painful (possibly something to do with the morphine) but I feel fairly ropey. Later on the surgeon calls in to say it has gone well. I ask him about the numbness in my top lip and he says it’s normal and might last a couple of days.

I’m very glad it was over. It’s been a 4 hour operation so it’s hardly surprising that I’m not feeling terrific. 

It’s not that bad and it will pass.

They bring some food round at tea time and I manage to eat a little bit.

I don’t realise how bad I look until visiting time. I ask my wife to take a picture on her phone and show it to me. It’s a bit horrific. I have two big black eyes and a crusty dressing stuck under my nose.

When that comes off you can see where they’ve made an incision in the skin between my nostrils. There are small stitches there. The nurse pulls the dressings out of my nostrils, which is gory but not particularly painful. A little bit of blood and gunge is still oozing out so I have to dab it with a tissue. They take the drip off my arm so I’m able to get up and walk about, which feels good. My throat is a bit sore from having had a tube when I was under general anaesthetic.

I spend the night propped up and drifting in and out of sleep. Not being able to breath through my nose at all isn’t pleasant and I keep having to sip water because my mouth feels very dry. I’m not in any great pain though.

Talking to some of the other patients helps to keep things in perspective for me. Although I look terrible, the operation was quite safe and not too painful. Someone else is going in tomorrow for an extremely complex 11 hour operation. He already has breathing difficulties and isn’t in good health. I don’t have too much to worry about.

Day 2 – Tuesday
After a bowl of rice crispies in the day room at 6.30 I find out that I’m going to be discharged in about an hour so I make arrangements for my lift home. Great news.

The nose splint feels a bit odd and there’s still a few drops of blood seeping out every so often but it’s still not that painful. I have to keep my face quite immobile, which makes me look a bit depressed even though I’m feeling pretty cheerful.

The nurse gives me a bag with antibiotics, paracetemol, diclofenacs, codeine and some cream to stick up my nose.

Back home, I sleep and read all day. I avoid taking any painkillers then in the evening start feeling a bit uncomfortable so I take a couple of paracetemol and a codeine.

Not a bad night’s sleep – I manage to sleep on and off most of the night, with a couple of hours awake in the middle. I keeping wanting to sip water when I wake up because the mouth breathing leaves me feeling dry. Even when I can’t sleep, I can meditate, observing the sensations, and that helps.  

Day 3 – Wednesday

The swelling and bruising around my eyes has gone down quite a bit. I eat some breakfast and manage a bath, although I can’t wash my face and hair because of the plaster splint. There’s no way I’m going to be able to shave until the splint’s removed either so I’m just going to have to use wipes to try and clean as much of my face as I can and live with things as they are. I remind myself it’s not permanent.

At breakfast time I take a couple of paracetemols and a codeine and that lasts until about 4 p.m. when I take some more. I don’t much feel like doing anything so I sit around and read. Later on I watch a film. I’m going to have to get used to doing nothing and being looked after for the next few days. At least I can check my emails and respond to a couple of work messages. Where does this need to feel like I’m doing something useful come from?

Better night’s sleep. I still keep waking up and wanting to drink water through the night.

Day 4 – Thursday

I’m recovering gradually. My black eyes have gone through the purple stages and are now looking yellow. They’re a lot less swollen than they were, although my eyelids are still puffed up. My face feels a bit uncomfortable and strange but not really painful. I still don’t feel like leaving the house.

Later in the afternoon I take a codeine and a diclofenac so the evening slips by in a bit of a haze.

Day 5 – Friday

This morning I wash the lower part of my face with a flannel. Much nicer than using a wet wipe. The surgeon’s secretary calls to give me an appointment in out patients on Monday. If I remember rightly this will involve pulling the plastic splints out of my nose. Something to look forward to.

I go for a walk to the bottom of our street with my wife, feeling self-conscious about the state of my face. One or two people give me strange looks. It feels good to be out in the fresh air and sunshine. Later on I sit in the back yard and read my book. I think I’ll cook a curry tonight.

There’s a bit of discharge coming out of my left nostril but I think it’s just part of the healing process. It doesn’t feel like it’s infected. My throat feels a bit raw.

Not a bad night’s sleep. I was actually breathing through my right nostril for about an hour.

Day 6 – Saturday

No painkillers at all today. The swelling has gone down around my eyes, which are now a dirty yellow colour. There has even been some air passing through my left nostril.

We go for a drive out in the car to pick up some curtains and later on a friend calls round. I’m starting to feel a bit more human.

Day 7 – Sunday

Do a bit of work. Watch a film. Take it easy.

It’s a bit uncomfortable and there’s still a clear drip from my nose some of the time. I wouldn’t describe it as painful though. I had another painkiller free day.

I’ll be glad when the plaster of paris splint comes off, it’s getting quite itchy underneath. And I’d love to be able to blow my nose. Just once. It’s a great opportunity to practise patience.

Some neighbours call in. They don’t know I’ve had an operation so when I walk into the room there's a bit of a shocked reaction: ‘What happened to you??’

Day 8 – Monday

I go to see the surgeon today. He takes out the stitches, which stings a bit, and vacuums my nose which feels unusual and a little bit unpleasant. The splints inside my nose will have to stay there for another week. On the plus side, he says that he's happy with the way it looks up there and everything seems to be healing very well.

While I'm waiting outside I chat to someone else who had surgery the day after me and is in for her check up. She looks as bad as me and seems a bit fed up with it all. We share our experiences.

I take another photo. The beard is longer, the swelling around the eyes has gone down.

Day 9 – Tuesday

Today I drive for the first time since the operation. We go out in the car and have a walk in the woods, just a couple of miles but it feels good to be out in the fresh air after spending so much time indoors.

The discharge from my nose has reduced now to the point that most of the day it’s stopped completely. Funnily enough it hurts when I yawn, although laughing is a lot easier now. I’m doing a bit of work and planning to go to a meeting from 12-4 tomorrow. I email everyone that will be there to warn them about how I look so that no-one screams.

Days 10-12 – Wednesday-Friday

I’m back at work, driving, using public transport, going to meetings and generally showing my face around the place. Strictly speaking I’m supposed to be off work still but there’s no reason I can’t do a bit of non-strenuous stuff.

The splint on my face is getting a bit itchy. At night, I’m getting some air through my nostrils but not all of the time. I’m feeling well although I’m a little bit sick of having things up my nose and a big thing on my face. Really looking forward to it all being gone. There is a small area behind my top lip that still feels a bit numb but I am assured that it will most likely recover.

Days 13-14 – Saturday-Sunday

Sleeping well, feeling fine, just wish I could get these splints removed. I’m doing normal things like going to the supermarket and generally showing my face around the place. One or two people ask what happened and look sympathetic.

I go for a long walk on the beach on Sunday, which is lovely but the wind is quite cold which makes my nose run.