Sinus surgery

[MP4/4]

Hi!

I've had problems with my sinuses(blocked sinus channels) in the last year as they kept me from participating in depth disciplines. It seems i have to go to surgery, the procedure is called transnasal endoscopic sinus surgery(TESS) and is one of least invasive ones as i've heard.
I wonder if someone could tell me(or share the experience) how long is the recovery in practice and how long i can't go to pool or sea(very important)?

Thanks!

 

[salibandy]

You should check with your doctor. Usually it'll be about a month or less to allow your sinuses to heal. The risk of infection is high when swimming.

 

[Aber]

I had surgery in my sinuses last December. It took some weeks for it to heal, but it gets better month by month. And after half a year to a year you can say for sure if it was successful or not. You should stay out of the pool for at least 3 weeks. Poolwater can be really dirty. You can dive in the sea, if the water is not polluted, after 2 weeks. I would not recommend it, but it depends how you feel. My sinuses never got perfectly open after the surgery. I have to use nasal drops every time I dive, and maybe some decongestant pills in addition. I still have a small chronic sinus infection, that probably will never go away (This is the reason why I had the surgery in the first place). But with the drops I am fine. I do cw dives below 60m with handsfree equalization.

If you decide to do the surgery, make sure that the surgeon is very experienced. It can be dangerous and also actually make it worse. But I don't regret my operation. Good luck with yours.

 

[MP4/4]

Thanks guys, this is really encouraging , especially to hear from Aber that he can go to such depths without a problem(since at the moment i can go only to a few meters).

The doctor said almost the same but i wanted to check with other divers.
I've already set the date for the surgery and hopefully everything will go just fine.

 

[salibandy]

Good luck. I'm still contemplating whether to get surgery. I have chronic and vasomotor rhinitis, so nearly all the time my nose is blocked.

 

[wet]

http://forums.deeperblue.com/742464-post113.html

Some articles on sinuses at this post

 

[Tony Babowicz]

I had sinus surgery on October 27th (three weeks ago) I have had problems breathing from my nose for several years and have developed a persistent infection. I have just got back in the pool this past week but have not done any depth diving. I was advised by my doctor to wait a month or two. I have had difficulty equalising the past several years and have not been able to equalise past 45m. It takes such force to clear my ears and forehead that I think I use up all of my air around that depth. I am encouraged with the fact that my ears equalise now just by blowing my nose and I no longer have the persistent pain/pressure in my forehead. I'll keep you guys informed and hope to get a couple of dives in next month.

 

[Aber]

Glad to hear your operation went well, Tony. And from my experience, the best way to better equalization is better relaxation. Take your time to heal and get used to the pressure again. Don't force anything. It will pay off in the long run. Good luck!

 

[smudge13]

I had transmaxilliary sinus surgery in 1996 to clear a mucal dome.(Giant booger!) It looked like a possible tumor on the x-ray and had shown up on x-rays for over three years so my dentist wanted to get a look at it.(My previous doctors had missed it on the x-rays!!)

He had me stay out of the water for 3 months. It took quite a long time to heal but I've not had any problems since. I regularly dive to 30M with no ill effects...