Breathing through your nose is not a luxury. If you are having difficulties breathing through your nose, it can be due to a variety of medical and anatomic causes, and a simple in person consultation with exam should be able to determine the cause.

An anatomic cause of nasal obstruction, the septum, the internal “wall” between the nostrils, can have an irregular shape and give you blockage on both sides of your nose. Another common contributor to nasal airway blockage can be the inferior turbinates, which are like “wings” that arise from the outside walls of your nose and direct airflow. Overgrowth of these can significantly impede the flow of air.. A septoplasty repositions the septum, and an inferior turbinate reduction shrinks and repositions the inferior turbinates to enlarge the nasal airway.

Other types of nasal airway blockage are dynamic, and present as collapse of the outside of your nose during a forceful inhalation. This is addressed with a functional rhinoplasty to bolster or reposition the part of the nose that is collapsing, and is commonly also combined with a septoplasty to address nasal airflow at rest.

If a patient has complaints about the nasal airway and also cosmetic complaints related to their nose, functional nasal surgery and cosmetic nasal surgery can be combined and done in the same sitting to save the patient from multiple recoveries. The functional component of the surgery is often covered by insurance, though this varies by carrier, provider, and geography.