A Guide to Sinus Surgery and Recovery

When you have been seeing an ENT doctor for some time about sinus issues, they may recommend sinus surgery to remove diseased tissue. During surgery, your ENT doctor will work to improve the channels of the sinus and create a pathway that allows for better comfort and breathability. It also allows for any infected tissue to effectively drain away to make room for recovery.

Sinus surgery is not a small surgery when it’s happening to you. However, with the expertise and advice from your ENT doctor, your sinus surgery can be well-managed, with excellent post-operative care taken. It’s this that is essential for your sinus to recover well after surgery.

What to expect with post-operative sinus surgery recovery?

There are many things that you should be expecting when you have had sinus surgery, and while it can be overwhelming, your ENT doctor should talk you through both your procedure and what to expect in sinus surgery and afterward. Let’s look at some of the things that you should expect when post-operative:

• Bleeding: It’s expected that you should have some bleeding after surgery for up to five days. Avoid blowing your nose at this point.
• Pain: Your ENT is going to tell you this, but pain and pressure are normal healing pains after surgery. It’s a dull ache like a sinus infection you’ll experience, and Tylenol can help.
• Exhaustion: Surgery is tiring; your body is healing and that takes a lot of energy. Rest, sleep and relax.
• Congestion: It’s very common to be congested for the first couple of weeks post-surgery, so you shouldn’t be worried.
• Anosmia: This shouldn’t last after surgery, but you will regain your sense of smell after a few weeks. It may be a weaker sense of smell, but it will come back!

Recovery time for sinus surgery is around five days, and you shouldn’t get involved with any activity that makes your blood pressure shoot up. You should rest and allow your body to recover post-surgery.

When you may need to call your ENT doctor

Recovery is a process, but there will be times you feel the need to call on your ENT for advice. If you experience any of the following, give your doctor a call:

• • High fever of over 101F
  • Continuous watery, thin discharge from the nose in the first week of surgery

Vision changes

• Neck stiffness and headaches beyond recovery headaches

Once you have been through surgery, there are several things that you can do to aid your recovery:

• Sleep upright and keep your head propped up. You can reduce swelling this way and you should aim for a week of this post-surgery.
• Rest, rest and rest some more. No heavy lifting, no running and no nose-blowing for at least a week.
• Change your gauze as much as you need to, but if you’re doing it every 15 minutes then consult your ENT
• Keep your mouth clean as much as possible and use soft bristled toothbrushes to ensure that your teeth are clean. You want to keep as much bacteria as possible away from your mouth.