Deviated septum common cause of difficulty breathing

Condition can affect one’s ability to exercise, achieve quality sleep.

The way a person’s bone and cartilage is structured inside their nose can have a significant impact on their quality of life.

The nasal septum is the internal wall that separates the two sides of a person’s nose. When the wall grows or is physically pushed to one side, it becomes what is known as a deviated septum, a condition that can affect one’s ability to exercise and achieve quality sleep, said Dr. Christopher Rizzi with Premier ENT Associates.

A deviated septum progresses over time as the facial skeleton develops or is instantly changed by a traumatic injury to the nose. Symptoms usually arise as the deviation becomes much more pronounced.

“A lot of the patients I see for this complaint are usually in their 20s or 30s after it has developed and become more symptomatic over time,” said Rizzi, who practices with Premier Physician Network.

The most common complaints associated with a deviated septum are difficulty breathing through one side of the nose or nasal airway obstruction. A simple physical exam can reveal that the septum is not in the midline and deviated toward one side or another.

In some instances, a patient may not even know they have a deviated septum, learning of it only when they are having imaging done on their sinus cavities for a different reason.

“About 50 to 60 percent of the patients I see who have a deviation of some kind have actually been asymptomatic,” Rizzi said. “Most of the time when I see a deviated septum during a clinical exam I let the patient know, but if they aren’t having any symptoms there is no real need to treat it. However, symptoms can appear over time, which is why having that knowledge is valuable.”

A deviated septum is not a serious health issue, but it can have a significant impact on a person’s quality of life.

“Some patients tell me they aren’t able to exercise because they have a difficult time breathing through their nose,” he said. “The condition can also lead to recurrent sinus infections. Others have difficulty sleeping because of the inability to breathe properly or are at a higher risk of snoring.”

Deviated septums are treated according to the severity of the condition. Patients whose deviation is causing a complete blockage on one side of their nasal cavity will require surgery. Still, medical therapies are considered prior to suggesting surgery such as those that help widen the nasal cavity. This includes the use of nasal sprays, which are commonly used to reduce swelling caused by allergens or other inflammatory factors.

If conservative therapies don’t work, one of two surgeries are used to correct the deviation. The least invasive surgery involves a small incision on the inside of the nose, providing access to remove the deviated portion of the bone in the septum. Patients who undergo this type of surgery can go home the same day and return to work within a week.

Patients whose deviation is more extensive undergo an open rhinoplasty, which takes some of the septal cartilage and rebuilds the structure of the nose to allow better breathing.

“Only a small part of the septum – about 20 percent – actually supports the tip of the nose,” Rizzi said. “The rest of it is just to divide the two sides of the nose. If the deviation is not part of the portion that supports the nose then we can simply remove it. If it is a part of the support, then we have to do more extensive work.”