In rhinoplasty surgery, my patients' biggest fear before the surgery is the tampons placed in the nose. Especially the stories told by patients who have undergone surgery in the past have spread like urban legends and have always frightened patients before surgery.
What is the actual situation? Why has such fear arisen?
The answer is quite simple. In the first years of nose surgery, the biggest problem was postoperative bleeding from the nose and the healing problems it caused. Materials that will stop this bleeding and create pressure there have been used almost throughout history. When the materials used in special surgeries such as rhinoplasty were not developed, oily glands that were left inside the nose for a day or two were used. The convenience they create surgically has enabled them to be used for many years.
They have provided surgical convenience, but this has never been the case for patients. These oily gauze pads, especially those made using antibiotic-impregnated petroleum jelly, taken one or two days after the surgery, caused adhesion and caused patients to feel pain when removed. In recent years, these discomforts have been eliminated with the developments in the biomaterial industry and the emphasis on patient comfort.
In recent years, a popular name called Slicone Nasal Split, which contains an airway and allows patients to breathe, has been eliminated.
Materials called silicone buffers are used. This has provided great convenience to patients. After surgery, especially after a special procedure such as rhinoplasty, they provide support in the nose and become imperceptible due to their lightness and aid in breathing. In fact, some centers and doctors have introduced this as nose surgery without tampons.
In my rhinoplasty surgery interviews, I first try to allay fears about nose tampons.
My patients say what they are told about silicone tampons. When they were taken and felt nothing, they began to fully comprehend. When rumors start to circulate that silicone tampons, like other oily wipes, are positively urban legends, patients will begin to come to surgery meetings with less anxiety.
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