Ear, Nose and Throat Doctor (ENT) Questions Ear-Nose and Throat Doctor (ENT)

I had surgery 4 and a half day ago to open my sinuses?

Since sinus surgery (four and a half days ago), I'm getting excessive sinus blockage each day, to the point I'm breathing through my mouth for 90% of my air supply. My doctor put stints in my nose, which he's supposed to remove 40 plus hours from now. Condition is almost unbearable, sprays and rinses ineffective, lack of air, no sleep! Question: Should I have been able to breathe through the stints? Have they become blocked over the last few days? If so, what should I do to resolve the problem? Don't think I can take another 40 hours without a Sunday night visit to the emergency room
I'm a 67 year old male in relatively good health, taking only doctor prescribed meds for this sinus condition (spray, rinse, pain, antibiotic), no other pre-exisiting conditions.

Male | 67 years old

5 Answers

Ear,NoseandThroatDoctor(ENT)Ear-NoseandThroatDoctor(ENT)
Call the surgeon. He/She can remove the stints now, suction out debris and have you use a vasoconstrictor spray
See if you can get the packing stents sooner. Were you aware of less invasive Stryker Balloon Sinuplasty? Less post-operative pain, recovery.
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If you are that miserable, you should contact your surgeon and ask him what can be done. Going to the emergency room is a waste of your time, as the ER doctors know next to nothing about sinus surgery or the appropriate post-op care. The ER is going to charge you thousands of dollars for them to call your surgeon when you can call him from home at no cost.
Those symptoms are very common after sinus surgery. You might have some packing in addition to the stents, or you might be obstructed by swelling or blood clot. If you can breathe through your nose at all, you can try inhaling steam; but it is unlikely that you will get relief until the stents and other materials are removed from your nose. If you are really disturbed, you can go to an emergency room and have someone examine your nose; but the symptoms that you described are quite routine after such surgery. If you have not already contacted your surgeon, you certainly should do so and ask him/her the question.

Robert T. Sataloff, M.D., D.M.A., F.A.C.S. (Dictated but not read)
Hello,

I am certain your surgeon would like to hear from you regarding postoperative issues.

Thank you,

Dr. D