Silicone Septum Button

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Dreamspinner3 - 25 Sep 2005 03:24 GMT

I started seeing a new ENT this past month & he thinks at least some
of my continuing sinus problems are due to the large hole in my septum
that developed after my first sinus surgery & then got bigger after
the second sinus surgery.

He put in a silicone button on Thursday & so far I don't think I'm
going to be able to adapt to it long term. I have an almost constant
feeling in my nose now that I've got to sneeze. My the pressure it
puts on my septum still hurts. Plus, although it covers the hole up &
thus prevents mucous from building up there & then drying out to form
crusts, I can feel stuff crusting up now around the edges of the
button itself.

Should I give the button more time? I have become less aware of it
over the course of the few days since it was put it. Has anyone in
the group ever had a perforation in their septum plugged this way
before? If so, what was your outcome?

Thanks.
-----
Kim/Dreamspinner3
Visit My Homepage: http://members.tripod.com/dreamspinner3/

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MS - 25 Sep 2005 18:22 GMT

I also got a septum perforation as a result of septoplasty. (You write that
yours developed after "sinus surgery". I assume septoplasty was included in
that surgery.) Anyone considering a septoplasty has to consider the real
possibility of a resulting septal perforation.

I never tried the button, so cannot comment on it. I did try, in a later
sinus surgery, to have the septum "patched" (I think with tissue from behind
the ear). It didn't hold. I don't know what percentage of such patching
surgery really works.

The perforation is now much larger than it was originally. One advantage to
that though. When it was small, it created a whistling noise in my
breathing, which I could not stand. With the hole larger, it is not so noisy
any more.

Now I'm just living with the perforated septum. I don't know if it
contributes to the incredible thick mucus buildup I get (which I've always
had, but has been worse since surgeries).

Well, let us know how the button option turns out.

> I started seeing a new ENT this past month & he thinks at least some
> of my continuing sinus problems are due to the large hole in my septum
[quoted text clipped - 18 lines]
> Kim/Dreamspinner3
> Visit My Homepage: http://members.tripod.com/dreamspinner3/

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loxaluck - 27 Sep 2005 14:06 GMT

I too have a hole in my septum following surgery. it has been described as
being too big and in a positions to not allow for a successful patching by
one surgeon. I am not at all sure what complications this hole is
contributing to. i do have thick mucous build-up but the main area of
concern for me is persistent, relentless, never-ending PND. what harm
does a hole in the septum cause? might it get bigger with time? i guess
mucous could be trapped there (wouldnt that be a plug itself) but would'nt
irrigation knock it out?

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MS - 28 Sep 2005 14:40 GMT

>i do have thick mucous build-up but the main area of
> concern for me is persistent, relentless, never-ending PND.

Well, that's really the exact same thing. Everyone has mucus constantly
going down their throat. The difference is, with a person whose system works
somewhat normally, the mucus is thin, it doesn't build-up, it doesn't bother
them to go down the throat.

With people like you and me and others here though, the mucus is much
thicker, so it gets stuck in the throat (as well as the nose)--therefore
PND!

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dreamspinner3 - 07 Oct 2005 19:27 GMT

Well the silicone plug button is driving me nuts. I have not been able
to get used to it & I think it is making things worse. I think the ENT
didn't cut it small enough & sometimes it feels like it might be
blocking my nasal passages; other times it feels like it is flapping up
top when I breath. My septum still hurts from it & it hurts when the
button moves. I am getting mucous drying up under & around it & this
is irritating too. Plus I think it has increased my mucous production
& post nasal drip.

I got another sinus infection now with it & I called my new ENT but all
he did was give me more antibiotics over the phone rather than having
me come in & see him. I'm at my wits end because I am so tired of
getting sick from my sinuses.

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