Hi Jed
 

This does not sound right or good. Maybe go see a different surgeon. Hope Bryanna will have an idea or two. This sounds like a bad proceedure from what you described. Did you know he was going to do that when he did the surgery? ginnie

Hi Jedi,

The procedure that you had done to close the sinus perforation sounds like it was what is referred to as a Buccal Fat Pad Graft. A piece of fatty tissue is taken through a small incision made way up high on the inside of your cheek. This tissue is then sutured together with your other oral tissue over the perforation. The idea of this fatty tissue rotting is a bit misconstrued but it's purpose is to encourage the formation of blood cells to grow your own fatty tissue to create a thick, complete closure of the perforation. This oral surgery can be a big deal and it is imperative that you follow your oral surgeons post operative instructions.

I'm not so sure it's a good thing that it's infected. What did your dentist say at your last post op appointment?

Bryanna

Hi Bryanna
 

I am having trouble wondering why these dentists do not tell their patients all that is involved with surgery and proceedures. The more I hear about this kind of thing the madder I get. I was not told the true condition of my neck either until I had more problems and got my records. What is going on??????What has become of a doctors responsibility to their patients?. This gent who had the fat pad surgery, obviously was not told much at all! ginnie

Hi ginnie,

Well... I can't answer why you were not told the full extent of your neck problem. I do know that not everyone likes or wants to know all of the details of their diagnosis or the details of the procedure. Sometimes, the procedure is scheduled to go one way and then there is a complication which can alter the treatment mildly or significantly. To explain every detail to a patient who is anxious or in pain, can cause unnecessary worry or even throw that patient into an emotional frenzy. For instance, to describe the procedure of the BFP Graft to Jedi would have been unnecessarily worrisome for him and others reading it ... that's why I didn't explain it on here.

Also, frequently what happens when we do explain a procedure to a patient.... the patients version or interpretation of the actual procedure when describing it to someone else is a bit misconstrued. Perhaps that is due to fear at the onset and they didn't quite hear what they were told..... or perhaps they just imagined what had happened and liked their version better. Who knows??

On the flip side...... other than a life threatening emergency where the patient is incoherent or unconscious ... I believe the patient should be informed prior to the treatment the general pros and cons of having it done, the possible systemic health risks and be offered the information on all other viable options.

~~~~~I believe every person has the right to be informed.... whether they want to be or not ;)~~~~~

Bryanna

age of reason
 

I guess I believe as you do, we have the right to know. I wish that I had been told the truth, and if it was held from me because of my emotions, it still wasn't right to do as it effected my ability to make a decision. I suppose I would rather hear an awful truth, that not be informed of what I am getting into. I didn't need to know exact details Of my 1st spinal fussion, but I should have been told the condition of the vertrebre above and below the surgery I had. That was what was withheld from me. That is the reason I insist these days on honesty with my physicians, and I get discouraged when other folks get the same treatment of not being informed. Not one dentist made note of the risk of RC to me, but they sure charged alot to do them. These dental problems people come to you about can really be serious. I just wonder what their doctors are thinking? Also to be told it does not hurt, and then it really does, do they really think that is a good idea to tell an untruth? Thank you ever so much Bryanna for the good things you do for folks. I for one, appreciate your honesty. ginnie

Ginnie,

I think you should have been told of the condition of your spine without any question. I agree that without that information you cannot make an informed decision and of course now you cannot undue what has already been done.

It is very common practice, always has been, to withhold information from the patient. There are a lot of reasons why this is done and at times it is the best choice made. But we should not withhold it because we "assume" that the patient didn't want to know or because the explanation was too lengthy and didn't want to take the time to go over it.

You mentioned how your dentists never told you the risks of root canal therapy. The dental profession will always be pro root canal therapy because #1 it is a huge money maker and #2 many dentists do not think beyond the patients teeth which means they don't consider the systemic consequences. Both of those reasons are unacceptable to me.... I am not alone in this thinking but I am of the minority that's for sure.

It's never easy to be a patient. But believe me, it's never easy to be the one taking care of the patient.

Have a good weekend ginnie!! Thanks for all that you do here :-))

Bryanna

Hi Bryanna
 

If I had been told the truth about my spine, that I reversed the curve of the whole dang thing, not just C6-7. I would have gone for a second opinion and maybe could have had the whole thing done at once, and not have to go through a second at C3-7 because the rest failed. That is why I am so interested in finding out the truth about stuff these days. I got caught not paying attention, because my pain was so bad I just wanted to get it over with. I paid a price for rushing into it.
Take care Bryanna, and keep helping those folks out like you do. We sure do need each other on this site. If the moderators are listening... THANKYOU and of course you too Bryanna

Ginnie,

I feel terrible that you were in such a predicament. But all too often, it is either pain or fear that causes us to make the immediate decision to completely trust the doctors "taking care" of us. If they could have gotten you out of pain long enough to give you other options and/or for you to get a second opinion, that may have been helpful. But again, sometimes we are in a predicament where we just can't think straight and if there is no one to be our advocate who can knowingly ask the questions for us, we tend to go along with whatever is recommended at the time. Ginnie, you can only do what you can at the time. The "if only's" can get the best of us if we let them.

I agree.... we do need each other on this site. This is a wonderful group of caring people who have experienced some really tough situations and they so warmly extend themselves to others no matter what. I know your presence here is very important to many people. I'm very glad we're a part of this community :)

Bryanna

Hi!
 

So, I have a question. I came across this feed when googling my symptoms. I had my #14 tooth extracted on Monday (5/7/2012). It was a simple extraction, and I don't believe I have dry socket at all, but I do believe to have sinus perforation (sp?). I noticed on Thursday night that when doing the salt water rinse, some came out my nose. Last night, a lot came out of my nose and then when I sniffled, air came through the hole.

There was no talk of the root being near my sinus cavity, and honestly, I studied dental assisting for a year and didn't even know about this! I knew your roots could sometimes go into the sinus cavity, but I guess I either forgot all about this or just didn't know at all.

Anyway, I'm terrified that it's going to get worse. I don't swish harshly or anything. I'm still eating soft foods. I do smoke and have been doing so carefully. I don't know if I can quit, but I could try... When I do smoke, I make sure to cover the extraction site with wet gauze and I don't suck hard. Now, I'm keeping the site covered because I'm even more freaked out by this... It's not too painful, just kind of a jolt sometimes when the water goes through.

I'm just confused and not sure of what to do? Please help me on this one. :confused:

Hi CoastieStacie,

Your description of symptoms does indicate a sinus perforation. This needs to be checked by an oral surgeon asap to determine how large it is which can help determine if it will heal on it's own or you need to have it surgically closed.

Irrelevant of how you cover up the surgical site, smoking does impede the healing process from a tooth extraction because the (carcinogenic) chemicals in the tobacco irritate the wound and the sucking sensation prevents the hole (and/or sinus opening) from closing completely. Smoking can also make the sinus perforation larger for those same reasons. An open sinus into the oral cavity can cause chronic oral and sinus infections which can spread past the sinuses into the brain. This is not something to ignore.

Please see your oral surgeon for evaluation as soon as you can.

Bryanna