Recovery from sinus surgery depends on your health and which procedure you have, but most people need to be away from work or school for several days. And you may need several weeks to heal completely. Be sure to talk to your doctor, so you understand how best to care for yourself after surgery.

After Surgery

An ethmoidectomy, a maxillary antrostomy, and a powered septoplasty with turbinoplasty are different procedures, but what happens following surgery is similar.

It can take several weeks for you to fully recover. You’ll have some swelling and tenderness inside your nose after the surgery, but this is normal. You may have symptoms like a severe cold or a sinus infection. This is due to swelling, dry blood, mucus, and crusting in your nose. To help your nose and sinuses return to normal, your doctor may recommend nasal irrigation or saline sprays and antibiotic lubricants.

After surgery, it’s important to take good care of your nose and sinuses to let them heal properly and prevent scars.

In some cases, your doctor may have placed temporary nasal packing inside your nose to support the newly opened sinus passages and to absorb excess fluid while your tissues heal.

Please discuss your individual care with your doctor.

Depending on your surgery, you’ll be asked to return for a follow-up visit after your operation. During that visit, your doctor will remove any packing (if necessary), make sure that your surgery site is healing according to plan, and give you more instructions on caring for your nose and sinuses.

Daily Living

Once your nose and sinuses finish healing, you should be able to resume your normal activity level. Your sinusitis symptoms should be better and you should have fewer sinus infections in the future. The results of surgery are never guaranteed, however. It’s possible that you may still need some kind of medical therapy to manage your symptoms after surgery. Most patients’ symptoms improve after sinus surgery.