Septal deviation

The main indications for nasal surgery are:

• Nasal airway obstruction
• Septal spur headache
• Uncontrollable nosebleeds
• Nasal septal deformity in the presence of other intranasal surgery

Nasal airway obstruction is usually the result of a septal deformity that causes breathing by mouth, sleep apnea, or recurrent nasal infections that are slow to respond to antibiotics. A septal spur headache is defined as a headache secondary to pressure from the nasal septum on the linings in side the nose (septal impaction) and relieved by topical (applied to a localized area of the skin) anesthesia on the septal impaction.

Other intranasal surgery indicating septoplasty includes polypectomy (removal of a polyp), ethmoidectomy (operation on the ethmoid bone at the superior part of the nasal cavity), turbinate surgery (operation on the concha nasalis), and tumor removal.

Review Date: 12/7/2019  

Reviewed By: Josef Shargorodsky, MD, MPH, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD. Also reviewed by David Zieve, MD, MHA, Medical Director, Brenda Conaway, Editorial Director, and the A.D.A.M. Editorial team.

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