Posted by Dr. Anil R. Shah
This is something a lot of my patients will complain about and something I’ve noticed for years. And there is a study* that actually talks about this. So here’s what we’re looking at. Patients with sinusitis, do they have an increased amount of septal deviation? This study actually looked at patients who were about to receive sinus surgery and they compared them to patients who did not have sinus symptoms. And what they found is that patients who were going to have sinus surgery had a much-increased level of septal alleviation.
So what does this mean for you as a patient? When I examine patients and I have patients tell me that they have sinus problems. Almost always, I will look inside their septum. And again, I don’t see patients primarily for sinus. I see them for breathing issues and cosmetic issues of the nose. You’ll see this deviation of the nose and what I’ll tell them is, I’m going to fix your septum. I’m going to fix this bone between your nose. And hopefully, by fixing this, we’re going to improve your sinuses. It’s not supposed to happen, but often it does. And I think this study kind of shows this association between the two. What I’m looking for is the fact that septal surgery itself improves sinus disease. And I’ve seen it in my own patients.
