Turbinoplasty

What is turbinoplasty?

Turbinoplasty is surgery to remove parts of the turbinate inside your nose. These are thin bones, covered on each side by a lining called mucosa, which filter the air that passes through your nostrils to make it clean and moist before it enters the lungs. As the first tissue to encounter outside air, the turbinates can get inflamed or swollen due to allergies or infection. When this happens, it can cause a nasal obstruction.

Why have this procedure?

Your ENT surgeon may recommend turbinate surgery if your turbinates are causing a nasal obstruction. This may be either due to the bone growing too much or because the mucosa is swollen. Having surgery will reduce the turbinate size, allowing more air to flow through the nasal passages, while retaining their important function.

What is involved in this procedure?

Turbinoplasty is performed in hospital under general anaesthetic. Surgery usually takes around 1 hour.

Your ENT surgeon will work inside your nose using an endoscope (a tiny camera with a light at the end) and other small instruments to reduce the size of your turbinates. This may include trimming turbinate bone or mucosa to allow more space for the turbinates to do their job. After these adjustments, your surgeon may use dissolvable soft packing to prevent scar tissue from building up inside the newly opened turbinates.

What should I expect after surgery?

After surgery, your ENT surgeon will explain how to use a saline wash to clear any mucus and debris that build up inside your nose. After two weeks, you will have a check-up with your ENT surgeon before you can go back to normal activities. It is normal to feel congested after surgery due to post-operative swelling in your nasal passages. This should settle after 2-3 weeks.

Where will I have my surgery?

Turbinoplasty is performed in hospital and is usually booked as a day procedure. If you have private health cover, you can choose to have the surgery at North Shore Private Hospital, Castlecrag Private Hospital or Northern Beaches Hospital. If you prefer to be seen as a public patient, surgery is offered at Northern Beaches Hospital.