Empty Nose Syndrome testimony · Priscilla Robert
Priscilla Robert: Empty Nose Syndrome After Laser Turbinate Surgery, Turbinectomy and Septoplasty
This page preserves the full supplied account of Priscilla Robert’s experience with sinus problems, turbinate surgery, septoplasty, atrophic rhinitis, hyperventilation, severe insomnia and progressive loss of daily function.
More than three decades after Dr. Eugene Kern first identified Empty Nose Syndrome, the supplied source argues that patients continue to develop severe post-surgical problems after procedures including septoplasty, sinus surgery, turbinate reduction, rhinoplasty and spreader graft surgery.
Dr. Eugene Kern and the early identification of Empty Nose Syndrome
The supplied source begins by noting that more than three decades have passed since Dr. Eugene Kern first identified Empty Nose Syndrome.
It argues that despite this history, the number of people developing ENS after septoplasty, sinus surgery, turbinate reduction, rhinoplasty and spreader graft surgery continues to rise.
The accompanying video begins with comments from Eugene Kern about the condition before moving into a broader discussion of turbinate surgery and then Priscilla Robert’s testimony.
The rise of turbinate reduction technologies
According to the source, improvements in endoscopic camera technology since the 1980s helped drive the development of new instruments for turbinate reduction.
The text specifically names Coblation, Radiofrequency and Laser Ablation and argues that medical-device manufacturers increasingly produced tools capable of shrinking or destroying turbinate tissue.
The source strongly criticizes this development, arguing that the focus on reducing turbinate size did not adequately account for the possible destruction of nerves, receptors, blood vessels, cilia and goblet cells.
Airflow sensation, nasal dryness and resistance
The source argues that when enough airflow receptors are damaged, a person may lose the normal ability to sense airflow through the nose. It associates this sensory loss with a persistent fight-or-flight response.
It also describes severe nasal dryness and states that, over time, the nasal mucosa may degenerate into atrophic rhinitis.
Another argument in the source concerns nasal resistance. It states that an overly open nose may provide too little resistance for normal respiratory mechanics, allowing air to move in and out too quickly and contributing to hyperventilation and impaired gas exchange.
The text additionally refers to a case in which an excessively open nasal airway was associated with nightly hypoventilation and carbon-dioxide retention.
The source further argues that nasal surgery has become increasingly routine as technology has advanced. It criticizes both the medical-device industry and parts of the ENT profession for not responding adequately to reports of serious postoperative problems.
It also alleges that complications may be attributed to poor healing or psychological causes and argues that some surgeons fail to discuss the essential role of the turbinates because doing so might discourage surgery.
Finally, the source states that severe ENS suffering has increasingly been associated with tragic losses and argues that these outcomes should have prompted a wider reassessment of aggressive nasal surgery.
Video: Eugene Kern and Priscilla Robert’s ENS testimony
Priscilla Robert’s story: repeated sinus infections in 2009
Priscilla’s testimony begins in 2009. She wrote that she suffered from sinus infections throughout the year.
While on sick leave, her doctor referred her to specialists, including an allergist and an ophthalmologist because she was also experiencing severe eye pain.
During this period, she learned that she also had asthma.
Her general practitioner eventually referred her to an ENT specialist, who diagnosed swollen turbinates and initially recommended laser treatment.
Laser treatment followed by inferior turbinate removal and septoplasty
In March, Priscilla underwent laser treatment intended to burn and shrink the turbinates.
She reported that the procedure did not improve her breathing.
Four weeks later she returned to the ENT specialist because she remained dissatisfied with her condition. According to her testimony, the next recommendation was removal of the lower turbinates together with septoplasty to correct the nasal septum.
The operation took place in April and was followed by nasal packing.
The day after surgery, after the packing was removed, Priscilla experienced a minor hemorrhage from her left nostril.
Although a nurse reassured her that she should now be able to breathe better, Priscilla continued to experience obstruction.
Her nasal pain intensified, her headaches became worse, and anxiety attacks became frequent. She also described being unable to remain standing because of the severity of the discomfort.
Emergency care, second opinions and a sleep study
Priscilla’s condition worsened until she required emergency care.
According to her testimony, the ENT specialist on call refused to acknowledge a connection between her current problems and the recent nasal operations.
After discharge, she sought a second opinion but said she was turned away because the physician did not want to become involved in another colleague’s surgical work.
In desperation, she traveled to Paris for a third opinion.
She then underwent a sleep study which, according to her account, showed poor sleep quality and snoring. Atrophic rhinitis was also identified.
“Since 2011, my life has been a nightmare”
From 2011 onward, Priscilla described an extreme deterioration in everyday life.
She wrote that she barely ate and could no longer sleep. She had lost her sense of smell, and despite the surgeries, her nose felt even more blocked than it had before.
Physical exertion became almost impossible.
She described living in constant hyperventilation with a perpetually dry nose. Cold air caused burning, and even speaking became extremely painful.
She experienced intense pressure extending from the nose toward the forehead, which she compared to having her head crushed.
Lying down became torture because she felt as though she were suffocating.
She described herself as utterly exhausted, isolated and deeply depressed, emphasizing that this was not how a person of her age should have to live.
Her testimony describes a life reduced by constant breathing discomfort, severe insomnia, pain, hyperventilation, dryness, isolation and exhaustion.
Priscilla’s warning about informed consent and turbinate surgery
Priscilla wrote that her condition continued to deteriorate after the operations and that, had she known the risks in advance, she would never have consented.
She found some emotional support through an association for affected patients but questioned why Empty Nose Syndrome remained poorly recognized in many countries.
She shared her story because she hoped other people could avoid the suffering she experienced.
In her own account, the laser treatment and later turbinectomy had destroyed the life she had known.
Before surgery, she had been active and engaged. Afterward, she described herself as confined and forced to spend much of her time in a semi-reclined position because of her symptoms.
She also wrote that only one ENT specialist had been willing to tell her directly that the turbinates do not regenerate once removed.
Priscilla Robert passed away on August 6, 2015. The supplied source presents her testimony as one of many severe ENS cases in which postoperative suffering became overwhelming.
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