MENTSA’s Benjamin T. Jeffcoat, M.D. Discusses Diagnosing and Treating Nasal Obstructions

The effects of patients suffering from nasal obstructions is commonly seen by the physicians at Mississippi Ear, Nose and Throat. Benjamin T. Jeffcoat, M.D. is a physician at MENTSA based in Flowood, Mississippi. Dr. Jeffcoat describes the diagnosis and treatment of nasal obstructions that limit airflow through the nose and give patients the feeling that their sinuses are blocked.

Causes of nasal obstructions?

We see this a lot with adults and children. There are plenty of things that may contribute to nasal obstructions. Sometimes they are caused by allergies and may just be a seasonal issue.

Nose obstructions may be caused by an anatomical issue such as a deviated septum. This problem is caused by the bone and cartilage that divide the nasal cavity being off center or crooked. This can make breathing difficult.

inferior turbinate hypertrophy results from nasal turbinates enlarging and causing pressure. Turbinates are long, narrow passageways that help to warm and moisten the air flowing through the nose. Patients suffering from this usually feel the pressure switch from side to side and it bothers them more at night when they lie down.

Diagnosing nasal obstructions

Patient History

When we see a patient with a nasal obstruction, we get a good history. We work towards discovering if these are fairly constant and do they alternate from side to side. We’ll ask the patient if they have more problems at night and is their nose issue causing snoring.

Patient exam

We’ll look in the nose. One of our tools is a nasal endoscope and it gives us a magnified view. During this exam we’re looking for a deviated septum or inferior turbinate hypertrophy. We’ll look for polyps, and evidence of sinusitis.

Developing a treatment plan

Often. we start with a less invasive plan and will prescribe medicines. If enlarged turbinates are the issue, then we often start with a steroid such as Flonase or Nasacort. These treatments have a high rate of success. These have a few side effects and require daily use.

If a patient has a deviated septum, then a more aggressive treatment option such as surgery under general anesthesia may be recommended.

Nasal surgery and recovery

Surgery to repair a deviated septum typically last between 30 minutes to an hour. Recovery is usually very quick and is relatively painless with few side effects.

We do have a separate procedure for treating enlarged turbinates. We use a local anesthesia that numbs the patient’s nose. We insert a probe into the inferior turbinates and use radio frequency ablation to shrink the turbinates. We can shrink both sides and the procedure lasts about five minutes. There are minimum side effects and the patients are able leave our clinic in a short amount of time.

If a patient has a deviated septum and enlarged turbinates, we may treat both issues at the same time while the patient is under general anesthesia. That enables us to be more aggressive in treating the inferior turbinates and we’re able to remove some of the bone and tissue that swells if necessary.

Along with treating nose obstructions, MENTSA physicians specialize in the treatment of disorders of the ear, nose and throat from ear infections and hearing loss to sinusitis and tonsillitis.

If you have a nasal obstruction and would like to seek treatment, call us at (601) 709-7700 or request an appointment time at https://www.mentsa.com/patient-info…/request-an-appointment/