Has anyone suffered from 'Empty nose syndrome'?

Question

It is supposed to very debilitating.

Answer 1

Empty nose syndrome (ENS), is a condition that is caused when too much inner nasal mucus-producing tissues (the turbinates) are cut out of the nose, leaving the nasal cavities too empty and wide, with severely diminished capabilities to perform their functions of conducting and preparing the inhaled air to the lungs.

These operations, known as turbinate resections, turbinectomies, or nasal conchotomies, are performed by ear nose and throat surgeons or by plastic surgeons for different reasons. The most common reason to operate is chronic inflammation of the turbinates, which can block too much of the nasal airways. A condition called “turbinate hypertrophy" is a condition in which turbinates swell and over-grow. Among the most common causes for this condition are allergies, hormonal imbalance, too much exposure to dust, smoke and other airborne irritants, nasal structural deformities like a deviated septum and prolonged use of nasal decongesting medications.

An empty nose can have a huge impact on a person's quality of life, and it can cause depression, slow down and impair cognitive processes and inhibit sexual and social activities. It can also cause a person to feel weak and depleted of energy.

The term "empty nose syndrome" was originally coined in the 1990's by Dr. E.B. Kern who was at the time head of the ENT ward in the Mayo Clinic (Rochester Minn., USA). He and his colleagues began to notice that more and more patients that underwent turbinectomies seemed to developed symptoms of nasal obstruction even though their noses appeared to be wide open. Other symptoms were nasal dryness, shallow unrested sleep, difficulty concentrating, and quite often clinical depression. All the patients' CT scans showed that they had very wide and almost totally empty nasal cavities, thus they called it the "Empty Nose Syndrome".


What symptoms does a patient with Empty Nose Syndrome experience? They feel as though their nose is always congested, and that they cannot entrain sufficient air through their nose to breathe adequately. They may report they feel as though they are suffocating. Paradoxically, the individual may report that the only time that they feel as though they are breathing OK is when they have a cold. Pain may be an issue. The patient may also complain of crusting in their nose. These syptoms occur years after a turbinate excision.

Answer 2

1

Answer 3

Empty Nose Syndrome

Answer 4

I got Empty Nose Syndrome in 2011. I fell down and hit my nose and got a deviated septum. Instead of just fixing the septum, my sinus surgeon added in a turbinate reduction as well (doctors add this surgery to get more money, they believe it is routine, but they are truly killing people). As soon as I got out of the operating room, I knew something was wrong. It truly felt like both my lungs were failing. Empty Nose Syndrome is almost exactly the same thing as having Severe Emphysema. The turbinates send signals to the brain and to the heart alerting your body how much oxygen you are getting. When my doctor took too much out, my body can no longer feel the air coming in. It feels like drowning 24/7. It is the worst condition in this world. I truly died that day. I used to run 10 miles a day, now I can barely get up the stairs anymore. This condition is pure death. If there was a walk in clinic for being euthanized, I would truly do it. Right now, I am on morphine patches for the rest of my short life ( I am only 25). The patches relax my heart just enough to live. Pain doctors are such morons, if they would should follow a logical dosage I might live at least 5 more years (which would be fine with me, every day in itself is a battle). ENT doctors like to lie about this condition. They say, "its just a dry nose thats all" BS. Then they say " this condition is rarely occuring today". More BS. If you look on forums, tons of people are getting this condition and dying away in months. And still the doctors dont put this condition on your file. So many unreported cases go on, they just say he was suicidal. Stay away from this surgery and if you need your nose fixes, make sure to get everything in writing on your procedure. ENTS like to sneak this surgery onto your septum repair for the extra $$$. Then when you get it, they say, sorry, no cure, would you like some nose drops.

Answer 5

I just had a septoplasty/turbinoplasty about 2 weeks ago and I've had a lot of problems with my turbinates after my operation so far and the doctors have said it might be ENS (Empty Nose Syndrome) but they aren't sure yet and won't be for another week or so. But after a lot of research, it seems to be very debilitating and it causes a lot of problems. You should check out the ENS Association's Website. It has a lot of helpful information about ENS and its cause.

Answer 6

How much of turbinates did the doctor reduce? Also saline gel i hear is very helpfull. Not the spray, the gel. Try it out. Im going to do the surgery of my turbinates soon and am very nervous honestly. I hope all goes well.

Answer 7

Never heard of it until you mentioned it ... posted a link below for reference by all.

Answer 8

I had never heard of it before but heres a website for you to check it out: http://www.ent-consult.com/emptynose.html

Answer 9

I suffer from empty head syndrome.. lol

On the more serious side, Empty nose syndrome is caused when too much turbinate mucosal tissue is removed from a person's nasal cavity.

Read more about it on the link provided below.