It’s a scary prospect after nasal or sinus surgery to consider the thought that you might have a serious complication known as empty nose syndrome (ENS). It will make you sick just thinking about it. Adding confusion to the mix is that some temporary complications are similar to ENS, including dryness, crusting, bleeding, and congestion. And, let’s face it, you shouldn’t worry about having ENS until some time has passed. Dr. Steven Houser of Cleveland, Ohio, for example, who is well versed in treating ENS patients, will not diagnose someone with ENS until a full year has passed after turbinate reduction surgery.
However, you could certainly be experiencing symptoms of ENS immediately after surgery, such as the sensation of paradoxical obstruction, and this symptom could indicate ENS. Confused? You should be. This is ENS we are talking about. It is incredibly complex and symptoms vary considerably between patients.
And your ENS may not be as bad as you think. She may experience a chronic dry nose and cold, dry air reaching her throat and lungs too quickly, which is downright annoying. Or it could be as serious as you think. If you’re like me, it could be a lot worse than you think.
I have experienced some of the following issues:
1) Vomiting after meals due to dry nose and throat.
2) Blow my nose with all my strength but with small exits.
3) Feeling like I’m just not breathing right or that I’m “stuffed up.”
4) Chronic sinus symptoms, often including nasal and sinus inflammation.
5) Chronic throat irritation that fluctuates between sore and irritated.
6) Excessive preoccupation with the nose.
If you go to your doctor, they may tell you that you are a difficult patient to treat…because you are. You give yourself and others a headache and it’s not just due to a lack of orderly (moody) incoming airflow into your nose. His turbinates (fingers) have been removed. You may believe that there is little hope for your condition and that most doctors are not sure how to treat it, because they are. They cannot reattach the turbinates and very few noble physicians have ventured into the realm of surgical reconstruction of missing turbinates today.
Given the vast lack of attention to this problem in the medical field, you begin to wonder if these doctors care. You just hope that they want to treat (or diagnose) a problem that “they” have created. And he is extremely grateful to visit a doctor who can accurately reflect on his symptoms. Dr. Houser, for example, has acknowledged that many of his patients are overly appreciative when they receive help from him.
So what should you do about this problem? There are many avenues of help you can seek, but you, not anyone else, need to fully learn about your problem and take a proactive stance on your health. Some treatment tips include pulsatile saline irrigation, allergy medications and injections, diet, exercise, sleep, and stress reduction. These treatments are not only beneficial for ENS, but are also helpful for a number of nasal and sinus problems.
And while you’re at it, take some time to read Dr. Houser’s research article, “Surgical Treatment for Empty Nose Syndrome,” published in the September 2007 issue of the Archives of Otolaryngology, Head and Neck Surgery. This article is perhaps the first in a major medical journal to correctly define ENS, and was rated one of the best articles in the September 2007 journal. After you’ve finished digesting that (please don’t eat it), read Have a nose surgery? Don’t become a victim of empty nose! for a second intensive course in ENS. And when you’re done doing those two activities, visit the Empty Nose Syndrome Association website at http://www.emptynosesyndrome.org, where you can chat with other patients. Or you can change the order of these activities if you want.
Stick your nose into these resources. You will not be blamed for being nosy. After all, you may not have one.
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