Empty Nose Syndrome case · Israel
Yaniv “Yaneiv” Oz (1992–2018): A Mother’s Account of Empty Nose Syndrome After Nasal Surgery
Toni Carroll’s account describes her son before illness, the nasal surgery he underwent during compulsory military service, the gradual development of insomnia, headaches, throat and breathing problems, repeated medical consultations and the dramatic decline that followed.
Letter from Toni Carroll, Yaneiv’s Mother
Toni begins by explaining that it is important to understand who Yaneiv was before his deterioration after surgery in order to appreciate how drastic the change became.
Yaneiv was a people person who loved helping with anything, however big or small. He had close friends who had been together since pre-school, was hard working, loyal and always the joker. His mother describes him as having a love of life like nothing she had ever known.
Football was his biggest passion, both playing and watching it. He followed a strict diet and worked out twice a day.
Early Breathing Concern and Surgery During Military Service
Yaneiv had said as a teenager that he did not feel much airflow through one nostril, although he was not insistent about it.
When he was 20 and completing his compulsory army service, he told his mother that a doctor had referred him to Hadassah Hospital for what he described as a small operation: a polypectomy.
Toni tried to talk him out of surgery. This was not because she knew anything about Empty Nose Syndrome at the time; she simply had a general belief that once something is surgically altered, another problem can sometimes follow.
Yaneiv was adamant that the procedure was minor and explained how uncomfortable the nasal problem felt.
Toni later learned from her oldest son that Yaneiv had undergone both polypectomy and rhinoplasty.
A polypectomy is a procedure used to remove polyps, which are abnormal tissue growths. In the nose it is often performed endoscopically to relieve nasal obstruction and sinus problems.
The Day After Surgery and the First Years
Toni visited Yaneiv the day after the operation and immediately felt that something was not right. She describes it as a gut feeling, although at the time she dismissed it as part of the normal recovery period.
For a while, Yaneiv appeared to be doing reasonably well. He held down a job, continued working out, attended football matches and signed up for many different courses.
He loved studying different subjects while trying to discover what ultimately interested him most.
Toni recalls that approximately two years after surgery, subtle changes began to appear: slight aggressiveness, headaches and insomnia.
Australia, Cambodia, Bali, Thailand and Europe
Despite the emerging symptoms, Yaneiv still had dreams and ambitions.
He booked a flight to Australia on his own. There he worked for a company with an Israeli man he met and spent a year saving money so he could continue traveling before returning home.
He traveled through Cambodia, Bali and Thailand and also spent time partying in Europe.
His mother remembers being extremely proud of him. He was away traveling for just over a year and a half.
But Toni says it was not the same Yaneiv who returned home.
The Gradual Decline After Returning Home
At first, Yaneiv was still playing football and going to the gym every day.
However, he could no longer hold down a job because of constant throat infections and migraines. He repeatedly returned to doctors, underwent more tests and received more steroids.
According to his mother, he was repeatedly referred for psychiatric help and was told that the problems were in his head.
Yaneiv still had some fight left in him and moved south to stay with his father, hoping that the humidity would help.
He visited a psychologist once. He also tried acupuncture and voice therapy because he believed his voice had changed.
Toni believes that the voice problem may have been connected to the amount of effort he had to use to speak.
Throat Symptoms, Sleeplessness and the Feeling of Suffocation
Yaneiv was awake through the night because of sensations of suffocation and anxiety. The lack of sleep left him groggy, and he caught an hour of sleep here and there whenever he was able.
Whenever the family asked him what he was feeling, he repeatedly answered only: “my throat.”
Toni recalls an experience involving a four-year-old boy in her daughter’s kindergarten class who constantly cleared his throat in a way that reminded the family of Yaneiv.
When her daughter offered the boy water, he said it would not help because it felt like a piece of dry steak was constantly stuck at the back of his throat.
The boy had undergone the same type of operation, and Toni felt that he had managed to describe the throat sensation more clearly than her 26-year-old son had been able to.
Depression increasingly took hold. Yaneiv stopped replying to messages from his closest friends. He could no longer play football because of choking sensations, became sensitive to dairy products and was profoundly tired.
Finding the Empty Nose Syndrome Community
Toni learned that Yaneiv joined a Facebook group for Empty Nose Syndrome only five days before his passing.
He had contact with one member of the group who, Toni believes, helped him finally obtain an appointment with an ENS specialist in Israel.
After years of unexplained symptoms and repeated medical consultations, the appointment represented a possible opportunity to speak with someone familiar with the syndrome.
Yaneiv’s Final Wish and His Mother’s Determination to Help Others
Yaneiv was lost on the day of the specialist appointment.
Toni says that his final wish was for the family to take the surgeon to court, seek justice and try to prevent the same thing from happening to other people.
A lawyer in the extended family initially said she would take on the case and collected the medical documentation, but the action was ultimately not pursued.
Toni explains that she did not feel able to pursue the matter herself because Yaneiv had said so little about exactly what he experienced and had refused to allow her to speak directly with the surgeon.
Even so, she remains determined to help prevent similar outcomes because she feels that she owes that to Yaneiv.
At the end of her letter, Toni writes that she is still trying to come to terms with everything and that her concentration remains severely affected by the loss. She also expresses support for the work being done to raise awareness.
Summary of Yaniv Oz’s Case
- Name
- Yaniv (Yaneiv) Oz
- Gender
- Male
- Date of birth
- July 23, 1992
- Date of passing
- October 16, 2018
- Age
- 26
- Country
- Israel
Medical Background
Yaniv experienced partial airflow obstruction in one nostril as a teenager but managed it relatively well. At age 20, during mandatory military service, he underwent a polypectomy and rhinoplasty at Hadassah Hospital. The supplied case summary states that the surgery involved turbinate reduction and that he was not informed about the potential consequences.
Postoperative Symptoms
Symptoms began to surface gradually approximately two years after surgery. These included changes in mood, headaches and insomnia. Over time, he developed persistent insomnia, throat and voice problems, nasal dryness and frequent ENT infections.
His mental health deteriorated as the physical problems continued. Depression and isolation increased, and he withdrew from friends and activities he had once loved, including football.
Treatments
Yaneiv consulted multiple doctors, underwent repeated tests and was prescribed steroids. He was also referred for psychiatric care, but the underlying suffering remained unexplained.
He tried alternative treatments including acupuncture and voice therapy, without finding meaningful relief.
Final Days
Yaneiv joined a Facebook Empty Nose Syndrome group only five days before his passing. Through the group, he reportedly received help arranging an appointment with an ENS specialist in Israel.
He was lost on the day of that appointment. The family says he left a final message expressing his wish that they pursue legal action against the surgeon, seek justice and help prevent similar outcomes for others.
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