Undergoing surgery to get rid of nasal polyps?

Dear Judith,



Thank you for your vivid prior & post-surgery notes and experiences regarding Nasal Polyp Surgery (Nasal Polypectomy). I read it like a medical Non-fiction story book with full of entertaining because doctors do not explain the whole procedures in detail besides I cannot find the real surgery stories like yours from google. It is a pity of your painful experience but I believe now you are good as much as you were troubled.



Personally, I feel like encourage that you could be an professional author someday. I cannot help but feeling like I'm in doctor's chair. ^^~



Below is my recent operation case and I hope anyone can be a help. Also please understand that much of my English is not good enough to read.



Recently, two weeks ago (my age is now 46) I had an outpatient surgery at my local ENT hospital because it seems not much serious as yours, Judith.



As a background, my Pathophysiology was (1) I had experienced little bit serious Asthma when 6~8 years old and I guess it is somewhat genetic issue (‘cause my mom (81) still suffers Asthma from time to time). But strangely since then for me anything goes wrong with Asthma issue. (2) Around age 25, I had a serious more than a month term ailing history of flu-like syndrome (cough, sneeze, nasal congestion & watery nose by turns, sporadically lethargic body condition…), and I guess this was aggravated especially due to the full carpeted my company surroundings. (3) My general health condition is I cannot say excellent but Ok and catch a cold 4~5 times a year when the season changes.



Anyway recently I catch a cold and it lasted 2 weeks before I went to ENT & found I had a Nasal Polyps at the right side of my nose. Through the Endoscope it looks not big (just little finger nail size) at the near nose area and the back side (inner side ??? I do not know but maybe deep around Frontal Sinus area) is more like a rumpled mattress polyps.



According to doctor, if polyps are diagnosed with some deviated-septum like Judith case or accompanied with major sinus problems then it need to be handled by functional endoscopic sinus surgery (FESS). And in that case, operation goes normally with general anesthesia, CT or MRIs and some other tests. Sometimes the surgery goes heavy packaging and/or seldom unfortunately become heavy construction.



As far as I know, big differences between typical Polyps and Sinusitis is (below is what I copied from internet)

The (Polyps) typical history is (1) a ‘cold’ that persisted over months or years, nasal obstruction and discharge prominent symptoms. (2) As time goes by Hyposmia or Anosmia develop, and additional complaints such as the feeling of a ‘full head’ are present.

Anosmia is a typical symptom for nasal polyps, differentiating it from chronic sinusitis without polyposis, may serve as a valid marker to estimate the duration and extent of disease.

Whereas chronic sinusitis is often associated with headache and facial pain, nasal polyposis itself rarely causes pain despite the fact that most of the sinuses, including the frontal sinuses, are opacified.



Before I was on bed, I tested

(1) Allergy Test and Blood Test

Skin prick tests to determine if allergies are contributing to chronic inflammation. Simply a nurse pricks tiny drops of allergy-causing agents (allergens) into my forearm. If the skin is swollen and left on around 15 minutes (not sure), which means may my body cause some allergic reactions. So it is desired to take a blood test that screens for specific antibodies against various allergens. (This was my case)

(2) Olfactory Dysfunction test:

Nurse shows me 20 or more small sniffing bottles and I did answer what it is by Sniffing.

(My case was in general OK and so far I had not experienced any troubles related with my smelling)

By the way after surgery I found that [The incidence of anosmia is usually reported as 1% after nasal surgery and hyposomia has been reported to be as high as 34% from http://oto.sagepub.com/content/early/2012/03/30/0194599812439531.full]

Anyone who definitely needs keen nose perception, I suggest fully with your doctor.

(3) If patient want Polyps cell test (I don’t know how much of the cost, anyway doctor suggest it’s really rare cases and not necessary).

Anyway the reason of test is a very small percentage of nasal polyps may contain cancerous or precancerous cells or whatever.



As a result the doctor suggest my case will not be much complicated, so decided

(1) Right side Polypetomy (2) Right & Left side Nasal Conchae razor cauterizing (3) Adjust Right side sinus area (Cannot fully understood but it was sound like loosen up some terminal ways between nose and sinus because I have some chronic difficulties of congested breathing and snoring issues while sleep.



The surgery procedures and after surgery treatment are almost similar but my case was;

(1) Topical anesthesia without injection (not sure because my nose was numb enough after stuffing anesthesia soaked tissues deep inside sinuses. Even I was in anesthesia, Oh my…my… I can sense doctor’s pincer is crocheting here and there…. Haha….(And funny thing he told me was) once there was an accident of his senior surgeon deteriorating patient’s eye nerve by tipping with his surgery sickle knife…& eventually had to pay back quite some of money….. But he added with smile, in a topical anesthesia status, it is impossible because the patient feels hell of screaming to die worth pains before anything taps nearby eye nerve….

(2) The doctor explains surgery will take 30 min but my wife said it took around 45min.

(3) From the internet, nowadays it looks quite an easy operation because they use micro-debrider (It is a little bit nasty but it’s rather accustomed to if you have to have a operation http://youtu.be/PcK1sBmbFVk )

(4) But as a patient lying on ENT surgery chair even for the 30-short-minutes needs strength and preparation so I suggest if you are hyper pain sensitive, I suggest ask some sedatives into the saline. For me, I can feel my hear-beat growing couple of times but not as much panic as jumping out of the surgery bed.

(5) After surgery you come back to resurrection room and the nurse will give you yellow fluid IV while you are regaining strength (My case was not general anesthesia, so my mind is too clear and tense due to the 45 min struggle). It is necessary to have someone beside you because your throat will be gagged with overflown blood from nose to mouth (It may not be a cup of blood but 3~4 times of blood clots to spit out with tissues.

(6) Overall the size of pain for my case was (I am a male & never delivered a baby so from my experience if Gallstone is measured 10, somebody said it is as equivalent as labor pain, then my surgery pain was 5, in conclusion.

(7) Total 2 hours hospital and after back to home I took 2 or 3 hours sleep and have lunch. I can still feel some after-surgery effect on my right part of facial area (some dull pain and bloodshot eye) but everything is same as before I went to bed.



Surgery & treatment pay:

Each country may has its standard cost of surgery and also differs the coverage of insurance, my case was (I live in Korea and public medical insurance system is quite good but It will be added some of payment if you are to hospitalized and CT and others) USD 400.

 Please be advised I did surgery in local ENT hospital comparably not much expensive as general hospital or University hospital. And the doctor age is around 35 and his surgeon background is some Korean Catholic Univ. Hospital (I guess within top 5 medic school in Korea), which means he’s been experiencing around 10 years of his doctor skill.

For the treatment, I visit hospital twice a week (Nasal irrigation, doctor check & consultation, medication) and each time it cost around 10USD (mostly covered by insurance).

Doctor said it will take 5~6 weeks until new nasal skins are sedated and functions normally, which means I may spend 120 USD. So my sum-up cost of surgery goes Total 550 USD (includes my personal payment of saline bottle for home irrigation)



My concern is as doctor also advised before surgery, the Recurrences of Polyps may expected around 30~70 %. So if anyone had experienced recurrence do you have similar history like Asthma, Allergy or any others??



Please be advised and idea is welcomed. Thanks !!

You should NOT have awakened while still intubated. Somebody screwed up big time.

i would not recommend a polypectomy. I had a blocked nose for 3 months they found a polyps a large one on the ct scan. i was booked for the operation. My consuiltant saod ot was sop big he wanted me to take some medical helpo first.

He put me on Prednisolene once a day 80 mg for 7 days. Plus antibiotic twice a day Clarithromycin plus Flixonase Nasule drops plus salt water spray.

Three days later I found i could breathe perfectly . I was due to have the operation 3 days later. I cancelled it.   The flexinase was hard to administer but persevere. Your nose needs to be upside down for one minute so the contents drain into the polyps.  Afterwards my surgeon told me that 60% of his patients are cured by the medical treatment outlined. I was angry that he had not told me before of the medical success rate.  It is possible that if his instructions are obeyed to the letter the cure rate would be even higher.

There can be nasty complications from the operation, so persevere.  I am an active 79 male. i went out for an Hours walk breathing through my nose with no effort after 3 months of total blockage.

Same happened with me. CT revealed large polyps blocking proper mucous drainage route. The prednisone helped shrink the polyps but was not a long term fix. I just went in for surgery and am in my fifth day of recovery. Packing comes out on Tuesday and already I am smelling and tasting for the first time in over a year!

Hello - I was wondering if you went through the aspirin desensitization. My doctor believes I have aspirin triad, which sounds like what you have. I have sinuses full of polyps, was recently diagnosed with asthma, and have lost my sense of smell. He has recommended surgery. I am just now learning about what is involved, and would like to know how you are doing. I appreciate any info you can send my way. Thanks!

Just sharing my story. I had been suffering from nasal polyps for two years. Difficulty breathing, constant headaches, thick mucous, constant sinus draining, and everything else associated with polyps. Over the course of a year and a half, I took various antibiotics, steroids, and nasal sprays. None worked for me and the antibiotics actually caused me other problems. My doctors finally decided to do surgery. I must admit I was terrified after reading all the posts about the procedure! To my suprise, it was actually quick, and relatively painless. I went in the hospital Tuesday. I had to have an embolization because they thought I had a tumor behind the polyp and they wanted to make sure they cut off the blood vessels to the mass so I wouldn't bleed a lot. They stuck a catheter in my hip and did that procedure in about an hour. My actual surgery was yesterday (Wednesday). I was taken to pre-op where they checked my vitals and gave me fluids through my iv. I was given something to sedate me and taken to the OR. They put on an oxygen mask and seconds later I was out! Woke up maybe 2 hrs later. I was still super groggy but I felt very little pain. I was given a Percocet for the slight discomfort. I could breathe through my left nostril for the first time in years. I didn't require any packing or gauze either which was awesome. I was discharged a few hours after the procedure. I have been having nosebleeds about every hour, but I use afrin nasal spray for that and it stops it right away. I take percocets for the pain (mainly from the catheter in my hip). I'll be back to my regular routine in a week. Medical advancements have made this so much easier so please don't let the horror stories scare you. It's so worth it!

I am so sorry to hear that your experience was so horriffic. I have just had surgery for removal of several polyps and found the actual surgery not bad. I also did not experience actual pain when the packing and the silicone stilts were removed - possibly the staff were gentelr and nicer! However, I agree that the sore throat from intubation and teeth post op were indeed awful. The recovery period seems to be very prolonged with the first week of a dripping bloody nose - disgusting and a downpour of mucus. After 3 weeks the nose is sore although not all the time and pain is treatable with frequent saline wash and Paracetemol but I am now having to cope with congealed lumps sticking to the inside of my nose which I seem to be poking at all the time with a tissue! The inability to breathe through the nose is uncomfortable and I couldn't have described the dry mouth better than you have! I have feelings of disorientation and dizzy spells which I hope will disappear soon. I have heard that these polyps reappear but am hoping they do not BUT do not think I would go through the surgery procedure ever again unless I could hide myself away in a luxury hotel for at least a month afterwards without seeing or speaking to a single soul!!!!!

Hi there, I had a really Bad sinus issue my nose would drip as i sleep and it was stuffed right side, during spring last year, it all started with having the feeling of something stuck in throat area did go to the doctors, a few times, and also a ain in stomach area so had to do a Barium Iv contrast test and ended having anaphalexis, attack, also sent me to an ent, he sent a camera down nose said had polyps AND HAD TO DO AN xrAY, ANYWAY WENT BACK TO HIM HE KNEW i HAD INSURANCE SAID THAT LEFT SIDE OF NOSE IS DEVIATED AND TO pROVE IT TRIED TO SEND THE CAMERA THROUGH THAT NOSE AND IT WAS NOT ABLE TO ENTER THEN HE SENT IT THROUGH THE RIGHT SAID THAT IT WAS pOST NASAL DRIp, GAVE ME SOME NOSE DROPS NASANEX, IT CLEARED FOR ABOUT 4O mts and stuffed up again, was also on antiiotics, also during that time had tonsil stones, showed it to the ENT said food articles, y the way i gargle my mouth and the food articles did not Budge from the throat, ut when i coughed or sneezed it would come out like whiteheads hard , somtimes if it made me gag I would have to use my hands to squeeze it out yuck and I knew it was not food so I started to google and fond out aBout tonsil stones, anyway the tonsil stones diaeared and I got a red hard lum near tonsils, showed it to the ENT when I went for the second time the red hard lump on right side said it was my tonsils. He did not ask me to do any allergy test, all he wanted to do was the oeration, was not happy with his answers so went to another ENT I did an allergy test and my allergy reading was 1665, showed it to the ENT he checked my nose with the camera too and said no polyps, do they disappear he wanted to reak it down into four categories to see what i was really allergic to, so went for another lood test and tis time I was allergic to pollen, dustmites the results were 5 or Below mine was six, AND ALLERGY TEST HAD GONE TO 1695, NORMALLY BELLOW 2OO,he said that even if he corrected my deviated nose it wont solve the issue with sinus as my allergies are very higH, he gave me steroids to take during the spring season, The Doctor has asked me to go and get myself desensitization, I am skeptical and like to know if anyone has had this done or know anything about it as you are injecting the allergy into your body and I dont want to go through what I did, anyway still haven't B een to see the dermatologist regarding desensitization, now it is starting again in autumn right nose getting stuffy and dripping, I am also on nexium as the lump in throat feeling went to pain in between throat and upper chest so that is why they got me on nexium 2OMG, ANYWAY JUST THOUGHT OF TELLING YOU ALL WHAT MY ISSUE WAS, AND IF ANY OF YOU WERE ASKED TO DO AN ALLERGY TEST BEFORE DOING ANY OpERATIONS, COS IF YOU HAVE ALLERGIES THIS WONT RESOLVE THE MATTER AND I LIKE TO KNOW HOW YOU ARE ALL GOING AND ARE YOU ALL HAY WITH THE RESULTS, TAKE CARE AND GOD BLESS YOU ALL, BY THE WAY STILL HAVE THE HARD LUM ON SIDE OF THROAT, THIS ENT TOLD ME IT WS JUST MY TONSIL AND NOT TO WORRY ABOUT IT bY THE WAY i ALSO HAVE ASTHMA IF I UNDERGOTHE OERATION i WILL HAVE MY DEVIATED NOSE CORRECTED AT THE SAME TIME TOO, BUT i AM NOT GOOD DEALING WITH pAIN, BY THE WAY MY SON GETS NOSE BLEEDS DURING SUMMER, AND HIS HANDS AND FEET p EELS AND BLISTER DURING THIS SEASON , HE HAS REALLY SWEATY HAND AND FEET WORSE IN SUMMER ANY INFORMATION WILL BE GREAT BEEN TO MY Gp SHE DIDCHECKED HIS NOSE AND SAID NOTHING TO WORRY IT IS THE WEATHER, DID NOT SEND TO ent, AS IT HE WAS GETTING ONE EVERY COULE OF WEEKS QUITE BAD, DURING SUMMER, DOES ANYONE HAVE ANY ANSWER TO THIS. GOD BLESS YOU ALL HG

I'm going in today for surgery in hopes of regaining my sense of smell that has been GONE for years.  I always assumed it was from smoking so never really checked into it.  I quit smoking in 2009 after a spontaneous pnumothorax and still never regained my sense of smell.  Again, I thought the smoking ruined it and never gave it another thought.

Then, I started having really bad allergy issues which my doctor prescribed a nightly dose of nose spray and Zyrtec but she also prescribed a CT scan and that is when I started learning that there was more to my sense of smell issue  that I had previously assumed, polyps (you know what they say about those who assume ;-) )

In any case, I was sent to the ENT dr.  We tried an aggressive approach with steroids which brought back my sense of smell nicely (if you have ever gone years without a scense of smell, you can appreciate my elation).  But, after 2 days of being off the steroids, my sense of smell was gone again. UGH! After experiencing "smelling" again, I knew I needed it back for good and now, I'm heading in for surgery.  

I hope it's not as painful as some have stated...wish me luck, I'm actually excited to "smell" the outcome.  I want to thank my Primary doctor (Rhonda) for getting to the bottom of my nasal issues :-) 

I wish you the best! I had polyps for 3 years while, like you said, assuming it was from other causes. I had allergy tests done, tried many over the counter medications, saw 2 ENT doctors plus 2 allergists, had a CT scan that revealed the polyps, and had two separate rounds of steroids, which completely restored my sense of smell each time. But after a week or so, it was all but lost again, and I was getting nowhere. Finally, I got so desperate that I decided to travel 2 1/2 hours to see a third ENT (one of the best decisions of my life). She immediately did surgery and thank God I was smelling within 5 days!! It was hardly painful (she did not use packing as some do) but I was ecstatic. Now all I do is saline sinus rinse twice daily, daily steroid nasal spray, and budesonide pulmocort which I mix with the saline solution and use a syringe to get it into my sinuses. I still have my sense of smell 8 months later now. The only sad thing is that my ENT doctor who did the surgery is moving away so I won't be able to see her anymore, and I am SO attached to her and she is my favorite doctor I have ever had :( although my primary doctor is a very close second.

Hi there
Good Luck and wish you all the est let us know how yur outcome and what sort of ain you experienced, i also have a deviated nose so I am scared I am 48 how old are you they say the younger you are the outcome is etter

Well, I am highly disappointed. Even though I followed the "eating and drinking" rules before surgery to the letter, I aspirated immediately after they put me under so the surgery was put off. In fact, my doctor said we need to wait a month or two :-( The whole thing was a bust. I ended up having to be admitted into the hospital for observation....UGH. I'm kinda scared to go through with the surgery now...it was scary to wake up with panicked doctors. :'(

Thanks for the well wishes. I just posted my experience right before I saw your post...please keep us all posted on your experience. I will have to wait another month or two :-( Best of luck to you!!! Oh, I'm 47 by the way...take care

I'm envious of your outcome and thank you for the "best wishes" :-)

i just had a polypectomy last week. the underlying cause is still my allergies that inflame the membranes of the nose. the surgery is not as invasive as I thought so I'm glad I did it. the polyps are usually not deep into the sinus cavities. they form just behind the nasal valves.