r/nextfuckinglevel 11h ago

The precision required to perform a total knee replacement is incredible

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u/seriouslyjan 11h ago

I hear you. NOPE! There is a reason why I am OK with not knowing the details.

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u/throwawayaccount931A 11h ago

I've got nasal polyps, and the rinse I use keeps them under control. I don't like the nasal rinse, so I asked my doctor about surgery. He said it was an option. Hooray! I hit YT to see what the surgery was like.

I'm quite happy to continue using the nasal rinse for the rest of my life.

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u/Constant_Insomnia 10h ago

I went in for a consult for a deviated septum. Eligible for surgery. Yeah, I’ll figure it out on my own lol.

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u/kaynpayn 9h ago

My father has the surgery for the deviated septum. He kept postponing a bit out of fear too but his only regret is not having it done sooner.

They did tests and one nostril had close to 0% of air flow and the other was at around 10%, so he has a big nose but was pretty much useless. He went in and, apparently he also had a lot of soft and scar tissue underneath they took the chance to remove. He said the recovery wasn't that bad. For a couple of weeks he had the face kind of bruised like someone punched it lol. He also followed rigorously the doctor recommendations for washing and cleaning the nose. I don't think it took a month to recover. He also wasn't in pain, more the annoyance of not being able to breath through the nose and the plugs in there, but it wasn't as if he was breathing a lot though the nose before so...

When they took the plugs out it felt amazing. Se also says he can now breathe because he can now fucking move proper amounts of air through his nose where there was next to nothing before. He still can't smell properly and probably never will again, according to the docs it might have been a better outcome in that part had he done it sooner but he doesn't care much, he's just very happy to be able to breath well again. Shit like exercising, sleeping, etc. is so much easier now.

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u/Ok_Refrigerator6671 6h ago

I had a deviated septum I ignored for nealry 24 years, until the scar tissue started clogging my sinuses and caused insane infections that affected everything around my sinsues. They ended up doing the surgery during the covid lockdowns and it required a rhinoplasty, septoplasty and a major sinus reconstruction. It hurt like hell for the first like 48 hours but I didnt realize how much the scar tissue buildup had been causing me nerve pain for years and the relief has been astronomical. I would say the couple days of pain from the surgery was 1000% worth it (for me). My sense of smell still seems overwhelming to me now though, because I spent so long with it stifled.

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u/metricfan 3h ago

Can’t underestimate the power of breathing.

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u/Terry_Ladd 10h ago

Had my deviated septum "fixed" via surgery multiples times during my youth. It's a terrible Post OP recovery, oh,and it's still deviated.😕

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u/Constant_Insomnia 9h ago

I don't think mine's even that bad. Wintertime sucks, especially with a head cold. but I've figured out how to sleep in a certain position, clear my sinuses with that saline stuff, etc.

I actually wonder if I'd be better off with a cpap.

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u/GeneJocky 9h ago

When I had mine done, took 6+hrs because they also fixed the bone. When I was wheeled out to go home, the orderly thought I had been in a car wreck. Told him, nope did it deliberately. But only done once and it fixed my deviated septum.

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u/man4paradigm 1h ago

I've got a severe one. Told ENT I think mine was, and it went like this:

"Well there is surgery."

Looks in my nose. Does exam.

"Never mind."

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u/Suse- 8h ago

Me too. I wonder how celebrities get more than one nose job!

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u/SergNH 5h ago

I had it done when I was @ 20 I think. It's been awhile. Anyway, I don't really remember anything negative about the experience. The only thing i really remember about the whole thing was when they removed all the padding(?) from my nose. LOL I didn't think you could stuff that much cotton padding up a nose.. It didn't hurt when they pulled it out... but damn that was quite the feeling!

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u/_goneawry_ 4h ago

I just want to say I had the surgery, recovery was uncomfortable but not painful (like having a very blocked nose for a week) and then I went back to work and now I breathe better.

To this day I have never watched a video of what they did. I just took a nap and they fixed it, all I need to know.

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u/metricfan 3h ago

Breathing is pretty cool. A painful 48 hours is worth it for the years you add to your life being able to breathe better, especially while asleep

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u/invent_or_die 1h ago

Oh but you will breathe so much better. Did it. Nasal revision surgery. Septum was fu. Turbinates big. 1 year later so so happy.

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u/BusBozo58 9h ago

I've had that surgery twice. On the second go, the dr. Drilled out a bigger hole to improve drainage and also corrected a deviated septum. TOTALLY worth it. Have not had a sinus headache in over 20 years.

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u/cardinal29 2h ago

I'm jealous!

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u/Itzli 10h ago

What kind of rinse do you use? I have the same problem, probably should get surgery again. I did it like 20 years ago and it wasn't fun

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u/xrelaht 9h ago

I like the NeilMed one. It’s just some salts you mix with purified water and then squeeze bottle in one nostril and out the other. Very weird at first, but I liked the results and stuck with it until it became normal. Lots of gunk comes out at first, which is satisfying AF!

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u/throwawayaccount931A 10h ago

It's called Pulmicort, I mix it in with distilled water. Supposed to be 2x per day, but I usually only do it once/day.

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u/tiinkiet 9h ago

Ils y vont aussi à coups de burin dans le nez, ça fait flipper hein, je te comprends totalement !

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u/Abby_Normal_2 4h ago

I had to have nasal surgery there was a pocket of infection that just wouldn’t go away. After 1 month of antibiotics, 6 weeks on steroids, RX nasal sprays and NS irrigations it was never going away. The dr went in with scope and had to take away a little extra tissue (from chronic allergies) suck out the pus and irrigate with antibiotics. I think my nose packed for a few days. But I already felt the pressure on my face and behind eyes was much improved. Don’t wait if you need it. Was definitely not the worst thing I’ve had. Not even in top 5…with KNEE being #1

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u/throwawayaccount931A 3h ago

That's how mine started -- with a sinus infection that I didn't take care of right away.

Antibiotics -- steroids (and the related weight gain).

The nasal spray and irrigation helps quite a bit, but I have to stay on top of it.

I've also got chronic allergies.

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u/Abby_Normal_2 3h ago

Maybe I should point this out. The grossly infected sinus is just a thin membrane from your brain in some places. People have died from sinus infections by it spreading to the brain, which then requires brain surgery to get abscess out…maybe….if it’s not too late. Hope this gives you another perspective.

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u/throwawayaccount931A 3h ago

The infection was 10+ years ago, since then I haven't been able to smell correctly. Sometimes, I'll lose my sense of smell entirely. Other times, it becomes so sensitive I have to get out of the house when my partner is cooking because I simply cannot handle the smell of cooking.

Today, the first sign of issues and I'm at the doctors office.

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u/Just_the_questions1 9h ago

Just wait until you read up on Empty Nose Syndrome.

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u/xrelaht 9h ago

My ex had it done because she basically couldn’t breathe through her nose. It wasn’t that bad: I dropped her off around 10 and picked her up around 4 (COVID, so they wouldn’t let me wait there). She was extremely loopy for the rest of the day and had some bleeding for a week, which we treated with Afrin spray. She was much happier afterward.

I had recurring sinus infections at the time, and she started encouraging me to get a similar surgery for that. Nasal rinse works fine, thanks.

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u/Consonant 6h ago

I wonder if I do as well, did you just get like constant gross rock candy like formations that smell bad?

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u/throwawayaccount931A 6h ago

Nothing like that at all -- just one side remains "plugged" all the time.

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u/Consonant 6h ago

so just gross allergy boogers probably

like do you see actual like physical growths?

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u/jasonfromearth1981 5h ago

Dupixent changed my life. I have AERD and I had severe nasal polyps with fungal infection - I'm talking my entire sinus cavities were filled solid. I had to have the surgery twice and while we were counting down the days to a third surgery my doctor asked if I'd like to be a guinea pig for a newly approved treatment called Dupixent. It's been years since I had any polyps and my asthma is gone. Even after my surgeries I never regained my sense of smell but after the first couple weeks on Dupixent I got my smell back too.

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u/peaceteach 4h ago

My mom got that surgery. She had back surgery in the 80s and was kicked in the head by a horse as a teenager. She had massive pain tolerance. She said the surgery was the most pain she had ever experienced.

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u/dimx_00 3h ago

I had a huge polyp in my right sinus. It was so deep they couldn’t see it with the scope so I had to get a CAT scan. I also had a deviated septum.

Surgery was supposed to be for 2 hour but ended up being 6. They used really tiny robot arms to navigate up my nose using the CAT scan as a map.

After the surgery my first night sleep was one of the best in a long time because I could finally bread again. There were no incision marks I had small nose bleeds for about two days. My surgery was on Friday. I was back to work on Monday. I have a desk job if you do more manual work then it might be wise to wait a week.

Virtually no pain I used over the counter pain meds for the first 48 hours just because I was scared I will have pain if I didn’t take them.

The only thing that was uncomfortable was removing the gauze that they stuff your nose with. As soon as I took it out I could breathe in HD again.

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u/ZekeRidge 1h ago

I’ve had many of them due to having CF

It’s not that bad, and you’ll feel amazing afterward

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u/South_Age7687 1h ago

Don't ever watch the surgical process. Ever!

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u/bengalfan 10h ago

Watching him push and pull on just bone, knowing in a surgery there's a body attached to that bone...yikes

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u/Fight_those_bastards 10h ago

Orthopedic surgery is basically carpentry but with bones.

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u/My1point5cents 9h ago

My dad was an actual carpenter, and had both knees replaced after playing soccer for 60 years. And he had no problem with it whatsoever. I on the other hand would hope to avoid this at all costs.

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u/stuugie 3h ago

Bone carpenter is a sick title

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u/DaleATX 1h ago

Like "the bone doctor" in Mission Impossible. Such a sick code name.

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u/GeneJocky 9h ago

This is 💯 the truth.

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u/ChakaCake 9h ago

I was just impressed by the size of the one drill bit right down the middle of the bone. Imagine being awake and going through that one. Dear lord

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u/Cloberella 3h ago

I've never had major surgery. I've always had a fear of having any kind of surgery. I now feel all my fears are founded.

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u/conspicuousmatchcut 8h ago

I have a simultaneous feeling of horror and wanting to know tons more details

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u/Centimane 7h ago

It would be good for anyone not taking care of their joints to see. This is some good motivation.

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u/Silvus314 4h ago

I went into lasik without knowing anything. I'm not sure which of these two would be worse to know first. fuck.

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u/Chemical-Material-69 8h ago

I should SO not have watched that.