After Care Nasal and Sinus Surgery - Post Operative Advice

How will I feel after my operation?

Nose blocked and congestion: (this is likely due to some absorbable dressing inside your nose) in addition to crusting and dried blood. Rinsing your nose gently with salt water beginning 48 hours after your operation will help.

Bleeding: (some bleeding is very common). Pinch the soft part at the front of the nose and lean forward. The bleeding should stop within around 20-30mins. The bleeding should stop or significantly decrease after a few days. Consider a cold compress if you have one available, on your nose to help reduce bleeding.

Nasal rinsing: I usually recommend neilmed sinus rinse or sterimar. 1-2 times a day. Your symptoms should start to settle and improve slowly. It can take a few months to feel the full benefit of the operation.

What pain relief should I take?

Nasal surgery can be very uncomfortable particularly in the early postoperative period.

As long as you do not have any contraindications- I advise paracetamol as a first line. If this is not enough then consider taking ibuprofen in addition to the paracetamol. Both of these can be bought over the counter and you should follow the guidance on the box.

Sometimes, a stronger pain medication such as tramadol, oramorph or codeine is given but only take this if it is needed.

What can I do to help my recovery?

-       Try to let the pressure from any sneezes out of your mouth

-       Do not blow your nose or if you must- please limit nose blowing to very gentle blows.

-       Try to keep baths and showers cool

-       Try to allowed hot drink and hot foods to cool significantly before eating

-       Begin gentle, nasal rising of nose 1-2 times a day 48 hours after the operation and continue for at least 2 weeks.

-       You can recommence your regular topical steroid nasal spray (if you have one) 7 days after the operation.

-       Sleep with 2 pillows (so that your head is slightly elevated). This is not essential but can help to reduce bleeding during the night. 

-       After around 2 weeks you can go back to normal activity

-       Sometimes patients continue the nasal rinsing for more than 2 weeks: this can be especially helpful if there continues to be any crusting.

Which Nasal Rinse Should I use?

-       The product I recommend most often is Neilmed sinus rinse (bottle and salt packets). This can be bought from a large pharmacy or online. Sterimar or other salt water nasal spray is also good but the volume tends to be less.

When can I go back to work?

-       I normally recommend planning 2 weeks off work. Some people feel able to work from home after 7 days or so but this is variable.

Can I fly?

-       You should not fly for at least 2 weeks after your operation. Ideally you would leave it 3 weeks.

Exercise and effort

-       You should not do anything strenuous for 2 weeks.

Stitches

-       Sometimes stitches are required after nasal surgery. These will likely be dissolvable which will disappear spontaneously after a few weeks.