A few years ago I was having a lot of issues with sinus infections. I was getting them over and over, they never seemed to fully resolve. My primary care physician referred me to Dr. Hirsch at Ohio ENT and allergy. He told me I needed to have a surgery to open up my sinuses. He said it was a mild surgery and it would fix my problem. So I had the surgery. At my follow up appointment we found out that I was supposed to have been given a prescription for antibiotics that I was never given, which was upsetting. I was having some issues breathing and Dr Hirsch was not very empathetic or helpful. Ultimately I wasn't happy with his care.
I continued to struggle to breathe for another year. I didn't want to go back to Dr Hirsch so on a recommendation from someone else, I made an appointment with another doctor in the practice, Adam Spiess. He told me that my turbinates were enlarged and I should have another surgery. I was reluctant to do that, and I was soon to be moving out of the state temporarily, so I declined. A little over a year after that I was still having breathing issues. I moved back to Ohio and made an appointment with Dr Spiess who said again that he recommended a bilateral turbinate reduction, and also bilateral latera implants. He said it was a small surgery, no big deal. I agreed and had the surgery. A month later, my breathing was worse and I was having nose bleeds because my nose was so dry. I called in and told Dr Spiess' nurse who called back and told me he said "give it more time". So I gave it a few more months and nothing had gotten better. Not to mention the latera implants were visible and could be easily felt in my nose and were painful for much longer than it seems they should have been (months). I went back in and he told me "everything is open. You can breathe" I told him that it was as if it was "too open" and the air wasn't being directed right. That I couldn't breathe well, that I felt like I was taking all this air into my nose, but only a little was going to my lungs. It was almost suffocating in feeling sometimes. That it was hard to sleep at night and driving me crazy. That I felt like I wasn't getting enough air and something was wrong. He prescribed me allergy medication. It didn't work. I went back a while later and he told me that there was nothing wrong and I have anxiety and needed to see a shrink. I was furious. I think it is outrageous. He didn't think I had anxiety before this, and he certainly believed me when I said I was having trouble breathing before the surgery. But now suddenly it's all anxiety?
So I went to another doctor in Dublin, Ohio who put a small endoscopy up my nose and showed me live on a screen what was going on. He said the turbinates were reduced too much, that I likely had nerve damage and Empty Nose Syndrome. He strategically placed wet cotton in parts of my nose and suddenly I could breathe better. Not perfect, but much better. He also told me that my latera seemed to be placed incorrectly. Unfortunately my options were pay $400/month for possibly a year for a steroid spray, or have another surgery, which he wasn't even comfortable doing for another year due to my last surgery. I can't afford the steroid spray, so I'm living with the consequences for now.
I am sure that these doctors perform these surgeries all the time and I am sure that many patients have success with them. Probably most patients. But I've been researching, empty nose syndrome is real and it's not being considered enough. So being blown off and accused of having anxiety by the doctor that performed the surgery is terrible.
I liked Dr Spiess a lot at first. I thought he was caring and helpful. I trusted him. But then to be disregarded and told I needed the help of a psychiatrist is unacceptable. This has changed my life, and seems like it will never get better. So please be diligent when choosing a doctor. Get an opinion, and then get at least 2 more before choosing to do ANYTHING, even small, "performed every day" procedures. And be sure to get all the information from your doctors about what they're doing, and why, and what procedures include.
My first surgery with Dr Hirsch he said "we're going to open up your sinuses. We're going to drill it all out". I didn't ask what that meant. I trusted him. Reading my paperwork, I saw that they took some of my turbinates then too. And then Dr. Spiess took some more. I haven't been able to breathe right ever since. read more