Septum Deviation

The septum is a wall consisting of cartilage at the front and bone at the back that divides the nasal cavity into two. In most people, this wall, the septum, is not in the middle. However, if it deviates too much from the midline, it is called septum deviation.

The most common symptom of septum deviation is nasal congestion. In some patients, recurrent nosebleeds, facial and headache, respiratory arrest during sleep (sleep apnea), recurrent sinusitis can be seen. It can occur genetically (congenital), as well as developmentally. It can also occur due to birth trauma (during normal birth, when the baby comes out of the birth canal, using assistive devices such as forceps). A fracture or crack in the nasal bone, bending, or a fracture in the septal cartilage due to a trauma that comes to the face and affects the nose (traffic accident, sports injuries, accidents such as beatings, falls and impacts) may lead to septal deviation over time.

The diagnosis of the disease is made through nasal examination and endoscopy. The treatment is surgery. The surgery for septum deviation is septoplasty.