@nrd1, My Mayo ENT basically told me surgery can end up making it worse and end up requiring an additional surgery if there are complications. He went over pretty much the same thing as is described on the Mayo website for septoplasty risks - https://www.mayoclinic.org/tests-procedures/septoplasty/about/pac-20384670

Since my deviated septum is not life threatening but more bothersome for the quality of life we talked about some options that could improve the breathing. What we are trying now that is working pretty good for allowing me to breath better through both nostrils is a twice a day nasal rinse (morning and evening) followed by 2 sprays in each nostril of a Mayo Clinic proprietary nasal spray. The nasal spray contains Mometasone for inflammation, Ipratropium to reduce nasal drainage and Diphenhydramine an antihistamine to also help reduce nasal drainage. I'm into my 3rd month of using it now and it is working much better than I expected.

Are you have nasal problems from a surgery?

@nrd1 - I would just like to say that ENT surgery can in some cases absolutely change your breathing and how you are feeling. In fact, that may be the entire purpose of the surgery. Similar to sleep apnea, treatment for any kind of disordered breathing can have surprising and far-reaching impact. Beyond the obvious impacts on sleep, sports, mental clarity, and energy, sleep apnea has been linked to depression, and sinus inflammation has been linked to anxiety. No one knows at this point what the relationships are exactly, and hypotheses range from some kind of physical, emotional, or epigenetic trauma causing the apnea or sinus inflammatory disorder, or the other way around: the apnea or sinus disorder causing a depression or anxiety perhaps due to lack of proper oxygen supply or negative polyvagal stimulous. Knowing the root cause may not be possible, but surgery can improve breathing at minimum, and sometimes does much more.

In my case I had two extra sinuses, which where inside two of the normal eight sinuses we all have. Being filled by additional sinuses rendered those two "normal" sinuses useless, and the "extras" didn't have a normal drainage pathway. This means I functionally only had six sinuses, when eight is normal. My remaining six sinuses that were doing all the work were misshapen with convoluted hooks and loops that prevented sinus drainage in several locations. All of my turbinates were huge... extra enlarged from years of chronic inflamation. Instead of looking like a potato chip, they looked like small avocados. My turbinates and sinus walls were touching all over the place (normally air flows around the turbinate, inside the sinus). This caused mucus to cling and not drain even where there were no hooks physically catching mucus.

I was getting sinus infections after every cold, and was choking and gagging on thick mucus for about half the year. I was completely convinced this meant allergies. Allergies are a complex area, and I cast I wide net spending a ton of money and a few years seeing several different specialists and getting a wide variety of tests. In the end, it was determined that I was not having an allergic response, but that for some reason I had heightened sensitivity. I was also tested for several bacterial and viral causes, before I finally, finally got an MRI and we found my sinuses looked like Dr. Seuess constructed them!

Prior to my surgery, I was very familiar with trying to remove irritants from my diet, air purifiers, saline rinses, steroids, and when things advanced to infection, antibiotics and systemic steroids. A few hours post opp, even with my sinuses packed, I was breathing better than when I went in. My surgeon said it was a miracle I didn't have more than one infection every year or two, and it showed how brilliant I was at doing sinus rinses, because most people with the same sinuses would have been in for surgery much sooner.

I completely agree surgery is risky, and the medical industry is fraught with problems. I am sure there are people getting surgery that don't need it in some cases, or cases where the risks can outweigh the benefits. For others, it is absolutely lifechanging. Basically I think what you are saying can be true in some cases, but not all.

If you have signifincantly malformed sinuses, I recommend filling your sinus cavity with the saline rinse, and then tipping your head back, rolling it around, and swinging it between your legs before letting it out, gargling, and blowing. Then use your nasal steroids a half hour later.