Overview
The main indications for nasal surgery are:
- Nasal airway obstruction
- Septal spur headache
- Uncontrollable nosebleeds
- Nasal septal deformity in the presence of other intranasal surgery
Nasal airway obstruction is usually the result of a septal deformity that causes breathing by mouth, sleep apnea, or recurrent nasal infections that are slow to respond to antibiotics.
A septal spur headache is defined as a headache secondary to pressure from the nasal septum on the linings in side the nose (septal impaction) and relieved by topical (applied to a localized area of the skin) anesthesia on the septal impaction.
Other intranasal surgery indicating septoplasty includes polypectomy (removal of a polyp), ethmoidectomy (operation on the ethmoid bone at the superior part of the nasal cavity), turbinate surgery (operation on the concha nasalis), and tumor removal.
Review Date 3/2/2023
Updated by: Tang Ho, MD, Associate Professor, Division of Facial Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery, Department of Otolaryngology – Head and Neck Surgery, The University of Texas Medical School at Houston, Houston, TX. Also reviewed by David C. Dugdale, MD, Medical Director, Brenda Conaway, Editorial Director, and the A.D.A.M. Editorial team.