Please remember..... I am not a Doctor, I'm just trying to gather some information about ENS from the Internet, so people suffering from this can read without doing tons of time consuming of browsing.
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.
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.
Source(s):
professional nurse
Good brief information. More info can be found on www.emptynosesyndrome.org.
ReplyDeleteI would like to add that I think it is actually more common for these procedures to be done for reasons other than inflammation (such as processual when combined with other procedures, business creation and income, routine, unskilled surgeons whom find it easier to access other parts of the sinuses with the turbinate resected, etc).