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Hi Mama,
With the ear cartilage I had stitches behind my ear and a large bandage around my ear as well as on nose. It was difficult sleeping on my side as well. With the rib/sternum cartiladge I had the stitches but they were under my breast. It was painful when sitting up and moving those muscles that were involved in the surgery but I recall that both recoveries were about 10 days. If you're going to it, in either scenario I would recommend what my doc did and have them harvest enough to sew under your scalp in case they need to revise later. This was not an ENT I went to. His practice was limited to facial reconstruction. He warned me it would be about a full year before everything felt completely normal again and he was correct on that. It wasn't a painful year at all but there are a lot of suture sites that need to heal completely on the inside. It still ranks as one of the top 5 happiest days of my life when they took that bandage off and I saw a nice straight nose. :D
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Just curious as to how long it can take saddle nose to develop. I have some slow on going erosion going on in nasal bridge but no hole yet in septum which my ENT told me is usually first step and very common in GPA. I know not every one gets the saddle nose and wonder how common it is and if there is any way to prevent it apart from trying to control WEGS by quickly treating flares and doing sinsus rinses twice a day as recommended.
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Thank you Sharron for all the great info. I am hoping for surgery by March. I am having a flare so with meds hopefully I can get it in remission and start my 4months and then have the surgery. I am sure it will be a great day when I can look at myself agian and feel like its me. thank you sooo much for telling your story here.
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drz my nose took about 6moths to a year to start showing but I had and have a hole in my septum. I dont kow that there is anything you can do to prevent it.
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I have no hole in my septum but I think it took more than six months to collapse completely. Nothing can be done to prevent it as far as anyone knows, and, I think that as any saddle nose suffer knows, its likely to collapse again under a bad enough flare (although my doc has said that not usually as badly as it did in the first go round.
I need to have a consultant with my ENT and his plastic surgeon and then probably have the surgery in December if my health stays stable. I have also heard from my doc that it takes about a year for everything to completely heal, and that many people end up with a permanently numb nose.
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Mine happend right away after a sinus surgery. I don't have hole in my septum... as far as I know..