What It's Actually Like to Get Endoscopic Sinus Surgery

I wrote a bit about the surgery while I was in the hospital, but it didn’t feel detailed enough. Now that I’m feeling a little better, and I’ve noticed there isn’t much info about this online, I figured I’d write it up properly.

Why I had the surgery:

Sinusitis. Had it since I was a kid — first noticed it around third grade. Medical tech wasn’t great back then, and treating this thing meant getting your sinuses punctured. My grandfather actually treated ear, nose, and throat stuff… he said don’t go sticking needles into a kid, it’s agony, so we stuck with conservative treatment — just meds. And “just meds” turned into over 10 years of it. These days I work at a hospital. One morning I saw a nasal cancer case and it scared the shit out of me, so I went home and told my parents, yeah, we’re going to the hospital, I’m not waiting for this to turn into cancer and looking like an idiot.

Went in and they said it wasn’t just sinusitis anymore — there was turbinate hypertrophy and nasal polyps on top of it, all from long-term inflammation. They did a nasal endoscopy and holy shit, everything inside was completely blocked. That settled it. I was getting the surgery.

Pre-op prep:

Checked into the hospital Monday afternoon. The doctor ran through the do’s and don’ts before and after surgery — no spicy food, no smoking, no drinking. Lucky for me I don’t have any of those habits, so whatever. Monday night they told me to come in fasting the next morning for blood work.

Tuesday they started an IV — first thing was a hemostatic. Then in the afternoon the anesthesiologist came by, looked at my build, and had me sign something. Basically figuring out the drug dosage.

After surgery:

Wednesday was the big day. Starting from midnight the night before, no food or water. They said 9 a.m. surgery, but I ended up waiting until after 1 p.m. before they took me to the OR. And here’s the shit part — they made me wait in the operating room by myself, and made me climb onto the table myself, then some guy slapped an oxygen mask on me and told me to breathe. Next thing I knew I was out. Full general anesthesia for this one.

When I first woke up I was groggy and still in the OR. The anesthesiologist saw I was awake and wheeled me out. According to them, they need to observe you waking up naturally before the surgery officially counts as done. Next time I woke up it was past 8 p.m. My mouth was dying of thirst. When I finally got cleared to drink water, it was the best water I’ve ever tasted.

Made it through the first night — well, “made it” is generous, I barely slept. My head hurt the whole time. A lot of people say endoscopic sinus surgery doesn’t hurt, and that’s true. But the key thing is: after surgery is when the endless suffering begins!

For the first two days my nose was completely blocked — the nostrils were stuffed solid with hemostatic packing, so I could only breathe through my mouth. The packed-in cotton made my head feel like it was splitting open. Genuinely unbearable.

Two days later they pull the packing out. Brace yourself before they do, because it hurts so, so, so, so much — like someone’s ripping a nerve out of your brain. After the packing comes out they still stuff absorbable hemostatic cotton in there, plus cotton balls in the nostrils. Still can’t breathe through your nose. Still miserable. You still wake up choking at night. And the post-op side effects start showing up — eyeballs aching and bulging, nose bleeding.

Two more days and the doctor removes the cotton balls, but they have to use a tube to suction out the blood clots and snot inside. I won’t describe the suctioning. It hurts too. Just as bad as pulling the packing. But once they’re done, your nose is actually clear.

After one more suctioning session two days later, I could go home. But I have to go back for weekly checkups. The post-op effects are still hitting hard — deep in the nostrils there’s still pain, my limbs feel weak, I’m sleepy all the time, my eyeballs still ache and feel bulgy, and there’s still blood in my mouth pretty often. According to the doctor, full recovery takes half a year.

How do I sum up this whole experience? Simple: unless you’re seriously ill, do not get surgery. It’s absolute hell. And this was a minor operation — imagine what the big ones are like. Also, everyone should take care of their health. Staying healthy is what actually matters.