Ear, Nose and Throat Center

Park Ridge
Buffalo Grove

(847) 685-1000

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PATIENT EDUCATION

  • Ears
    • Child's Hearing Loss
    • Cholesteatoma
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    • Chronic Otitis Media
    • Cochlear-Meningitis Vaccination
    • Day Care and Ear, Nose, and Throat Problems
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    • Your Genes and Hearing Loss
    • How the Ear Works
    • Hyperacusis
    • Know the Power of Sound
    • Noise-Induced Hearing Loss In Children
    • Pediatric Obesity
    • What You Should Know About Otosclerosis
    • When Your Child Has Tinnitus
    • Why Do Children Have Earaches?
    • Infant Hearing Loss
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  • Throat
    • About Your Voice
    • Common Problems That Can Affect Your Voice
    • Day Care and Ear, Nose, and Throat
    • Can the Medications I Take Harm My Voice
    • Gastroesphageal Reflux (GERD)
    • How Allergies Affect your Child's Ears, Nose, and Throat
    • Keeping Your Voice Healthy
    • Laryngeal (Voice Box) Cancer
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    • Nodules, Polyps, and Cysts
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  • Nose and Mouth
    • Allergies and Hay Fever
    • Antihistamines, Decongestants, and "Cold" Remedies
    • Continuous Positive Airway Pressure (CPAP)
    • Facial Sports Injuries
    • 20 Questions about Your Sinuses
    • Allergic Rhinitis (Hay Fever)
    • Allergic Rhinitis, Sinusitis, and Rhinosinusitis
    • Antibiotics and Sinusitis
    • Are We Through With Chew Yet?
    • Cleft Lip and Cleft Palate
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    • Day Care and Ear, Nose, and Throat Problems
    • Deviated Septum
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    • How Allergies Affect your Child's Ears, Nose, and Throat
    • Injection Snoreplasty
    • Pediatric Obesity
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    • Tips for Sinus Sufferers
    • Tongue-tie (Ankyloglossia)
    • Your Nose: The Guardian Of Your Lungs
    • Fungal Sinusitis
    • Laser Assisted Uvula Palatoplasty (LAUP)
    • Mouth Sores
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    • Nose Surgery
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    • Salivary Glands
    • Secondhand Smoke
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  • Head and Neck
    • Bell's Palsy
    • Children and Facial Paralysis
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    • Are We Through With Chew Yet?
    • Common Problems That Can Affect Your Voice
    • Laryngeal (Voice Box) Cancer
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  • Pediatric
    • Child's Hearing Loss
    • Children and Facial Paralysis
    • Facial Sports Injuries
    • Allergic Rhinitis (Hay Fever)
    • Child Screening
    • Children and Facial Trauma
    • Cochlear-Meningitis Vaccination
    • Could My Child Have Sleep Apnea?
    • Day Care and Ear, Nose, and Throat
    • How Allergies Affect your Child's Ears, Nose, and Throat
    • Laryngopharyngeal Reflux and Children
    • Noise-Induced Hearing Loss In Children
    • Pediatric Food Allergies
    • Pediatric GERD
    • Pediatric Head and Neck Tumors
    • Pediatric Obesity and Ear, Nose, and Throat Disorders
    • Pediatric Thyroid Cancer
    • When Your Child Has Tinnitus
    • Why Do Children Have Earaches?
    • Pediatric Sinusitis
    • Secondhand Smoke and Children
  • Información de Salud en Español
    • Colesteatoma
    • Diábolos Estudio acerca de causas y opciones terapéuticas
    • Doctor? ¿Por Qué a Mi Hijo Le Duele El Oído?
    • Doctor? ¿Qué Causa El Ruido En El Oído?
    • El Humo del Tabaco Ambiental y los Niños
    • La pérdida de la audición
    • Otitis Media Crónica (Infección del Oído Medio) e Hipocusia
    • Perfóracion Timpánica
    • Qué Debe Saber Acerca de la Otoesclerosis
    • Screening de Audición en Niños
    • Sirvan Las Amigdalas Y Los Adenoides?
    • Amigdalitis
    • Rinitis alérgica, sinusitis y rinosinusitis
    • Implantes cocleares
    • Problemas comunes que pueden afectar a su voz
    • ¿Tengo sinusitis?
    • Cera en los oídos
    • Reflujo Gastroesofágico (ERGE)
    • Las fracturas nasales
    • Nódulos, pólipos y quistes
    • Hemorragias nasales
    • Glosario para una buena salud del oído

DEVIATED SEPTUM

Our team of specialists and staff believe that informed patients are better equipped to make decisions regarding their health and well being. For your personal use, we have created an extensive patient library covering an array of educational topics. Browse through these diagnoses and treatments to learn more about topics of interest to you. Or, for a more comprehensive search of our entire Web site, enter your term(s) in the search bar provided.

As always, you can contact our office to answer any questions or concerns.

The shape of your nasal cavity could be the cause of chronic sinusitis. The nasal septum is the wall dividing the nasal cavity into halves; it is composed of a central supporting skeleton covered on each side by mucous membrane. The front portion of this natural partition is a firm but bendable structure made mostly of cartilage and is covered by skin that has a substantial supply of blood vessels. The ideal nasal septum is exactly midline, separating the left and right sides of the nose into passageways of equal size.

Estimates are that 80 percent of all nasal septums are off-center, a condition that is generally not noticed. A "deviated septum" occurs when the septum is severely shifted away from the midline. The most common symptom from a badly deviated or crooked septum is difficulty breathing through the nose. The symptoms are usually worse on one side, and sometimes actually occur on the side opposite the bend. In some cases the crooked septum can interfere with the drainage of the sinuses, resulting in repeated sinus infections.

Septoplasty is the preferred surgical treatment to correct a deviated septum. This procedure is not generally performed on minors, because the cartilaginous septum grows until around age 18. Septal deviations commonly occur due to nasal trauma.

A deviated septum may cause one or more of the following:

  • Blockage of one or both nostrils
  • Nasal congestion, sometimes one-sided
  • Frequent nosebleeds
  • Frequent sinus infections
  • At times, facial pain, headaches, postnasal drip
  • Noisy breathing during sleep (in infants and young children)

In some cases, a person with a mildly deviated septum has symptoms only when he or she also has a "cold" (an upper respiratory tract infection). In these individuals, the respiratory infection triggers nasal inflammation that temporarily amplifies any mild airflow problems related to the deviated septum. Once the "cold" resolves, and the nasal inflammation subsides, symptoms of a deviated septum often resolve, too.

Diagnosis of A Deviated Septum: Patients with chronic sinusitis often have nasal congestion, and many have nasal septal deviations. However, for those with this debilitating condition, there may be additional reasons for the nasal airway obstruction. The problem may result from a septal deviation, reactive edema (swelling) from the infected areas, allergic problems, mucosal hypertrophy (increase in size), other anatomic abnormalities, or combinations thereof. A trained specialist in diagnosing and treating ear, nose, and throat disorders can determine the cause of your chronic sinusitis and nasal obstruction.

Your First Visit: After discussing your symptoms, the primary care physician or specialist will inquire if you have ever incurred severe trauma to your nose and if you have had previous nasal surgery. Next, an examination of the general appearance of your nose will occur, including the position of your nasal septum. This will entail the use of a bright light and a nasal speculum (an instrument that gently spreads open your nostril) to inspect the inside surface of each nostril.

Surgery may be the recommended treatment if the deviated septum is causing troublesome nosebleeds or recurrent sinus infections. Additional testing may be required in some circumstances.

Septoplasty: Septoplasty is a surgical procedure performed entirely through the nostrils, accordingly, no bruising or external signs occur. The surgery might be combined with a rhinoplasty, in which case the external appearance of the nose is altered and swelling/bruising of the face is evident. Septoplasty may also be combined with sinus surgery.

The time required for the operation averages about one to one and a half hours, depending on the deviation. It can be done with a local or a general anesthetic, and is usually done on an outpatient basis. After the surgery, nasal packing is inserted to prevent excessive postoperative bleeding. During the surgery, badly deviated portions of the septum may be removed entirely, or they may be readjusted and reinserted into the nose.

If a deviated nasal septum is the sole cause for your chronic sinusitis, relief from this severe disorder will be achieved.


Phone: (847) 685-1000                                                Fax: (847) 685-6685

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