Nasal Fracture Treatment | Nasal Bone Fracture Surgery

About Nasal Fracture

The bone on the nose is prone to fractures when it gets hit with a strong and high impact force. This bone is found under the top part of the nose. A break on the nasal bone is called a nasal fracture. Among all the types of bone fractures, this ranks third. Thus, it can be regarded as quite a commonly occurring bone fracture.

Symptoms

Certain fracture symptoms will signal the occurrence of the fracture. These are:

• nosebleed
• facial swelling
• facial pain
• bruising
• tenderness
• difficulty in breathing using the nose
• deformed nose
• crepitus, which is the crunching sensation that is produced every time air is breathed in by the nose
• black eyes
• blocked nostrils

Incidence

When it comes to ranking the different types of fracture injury that can happen to humans, nasal bone fracture comes in third. This is quite a high ranking which means that the nasal cavity is prone to fractures. Moreover, nasal fractures are said to have caused 40 percent of damage to the face. During accidents, a fractured nose is likely one of the victim’s injuries. When the face gets hit by a strong external force, you might have a facial fracture and one that might affect the nose.

Complications

There are several fracture complications that should be reduced in risks when a person has nondisplaced nasal fracture. These are:

• nasal septal hematoma, which is the pooling of blood on the nasal septum
• changed appearance of tip of the nose, possibly due to deformity in a comminuted nasal fracture
• septal perforation, which is the creation of a hole in the septum
• saddle nose deformity
• long term or permanent breathing difficulty
• lost sense of smell
• infection of the sinuses, nose or facial bones in an open nasal fracture
• constant leaking of fluid from both nostrils due to CSF rhinorrhea

Evaluation

Fracture diagnosis of nasal septal fracture, or just about any fracture on the nose would include checking the medical history of the patient, several diagnostic tests, and physical examination.

During physical examination conducted after an nasal injury involving the nose, the doctor should find out if the patient has the following factors:

• nosebleed
• bruises
• swelling
• inability to inhale and exhale using the nostrils
• septal hematoma, which is a condition that involves a blood clot on both sides of the nose
• tenderness of the face
• severe tenderness right on the area of the nose
• crepitus

If the physical examination does not seem clear in showing nasal fracture symptoms, several diagnostic tests needs to be done. These tests are:

• x-ray test for the facial bone
• CT scan of the facial bones
• CT scan of the brain
• Eye examination
• Dental x-rays
• Ultrasound

Other exams in diagnosing a nasal spine fracture would consist of nasal endoscopy and nasal speculum exam. Endoscopy, or otherwise called as rhinoscopy, makes use of a scope with a camera to take a look at the inner side of the broken nose bones to take pictures. In the speculum exam, a speculum device, which has a bright light, is used to check the nasal polyps and other parts of the nose. This is to check if swelling or blood clots are present because these are among the nasal fracture symptoms.

 

Nasal Fracture Treatment and Monitoring

Nasal fracture treatment can be done at home, but severe cases would need the attention of a specialist, especially when the patient needs nasal fracture surgery. Home care is also possible for navicular fracture in a less severe case although a fracture cast would be necessary at times. For nondisplaced fractures, many home care solutions can be done as well. A Monteggia fracture though that is displaced would require fracture surgery. An ankle fracture, such as Maisonneuve fracture, can make use of the ice pack treatment that is also a necessary first aid treatment for nasal polyps symptoms.

During a suspected pediatric nasal fracture, or a nasal fracture in children, the following first aid treatment should be done:

1. Remain calm. Panic can only make things worse.

2. Direct the slow intake of air in the patient through the mouth instead of the nostrils. Let the patient sit properly. This can help the person avoid choking on his own blood which can go to the back of the throat. This may not help on how to heal the fracture but this can slow down the blood flow.

3. Apply an ice pack to the area of maxilla and nasal fracture. This can also stop the bleeding and swelling. The ice pack or cold compress should be applied for 20 minutes at a time directly on the fractured nasal bone. This should be done two to three times every day to help hasten the nasal fracture recovery time.

4. Take medicines for pain relief. Pain is a common sign of nasal bone fracture. If you want to know how to tell if your nose is broken, pain in the nose area is a symptom.

5. Do not touch the fractured nasal bone. To treat nasal fracture, only the doctors and other medical professionals should do anything to the bone. Immediate medical attention should be sought for nasal bone fracture treatment.

A doctor should be called immediately in the following cases in order to avoid further fracture complications:

• Nonstop bleeding
• Deformed nasal bone
• Clear fluid leaking from the nose
• Possibility of neck or head injury
• Possibility of blood clot
• Difficulty breathing

The classification of a broken nose is based on its severity and how it has occurred. It can be open or close, displaced or not displaced, broken into pieces or not, and the like. Thus, the surgeon would recommend different solutions and even different nasal fracture emedicine. This emedicine can be conveniently bought online. Rhinoplasty can even be one of the ways on how to treat nasal fracture quick, though this might be costly.

There are different options for nasal fracture treatment that might make use of the following:

• Closed nasal fracture reduction. The nasal bone will be realigned. Unlike in open reduction nasal fracture, this is a procedure that is done without having to open the skin on the nose while the bones are moved back to their proper places.
• Splint. This might be necessary to support the nasal bone fractures. This can be placed on top of the nose or inside it. This functions just like how a brace can immobilize a fractured bone.
• Medication. This can help the patient bear the pain that is felt all throughout the ordeal of the fracture. While the fracture healing time is still days or weeks away, pain relievers are prescribed by doctors. Some medications are also taken to help the patient breathe much easier after a nose injury.
• Irrigation and debridement. These are needed by patients with open wounds. These will remove all foreign objects from the wounds to avoid infection, which is one of the fracture complications that a patient will face.
• Nasal packing. This refers to how the nose will be bandaged to regulate the bleeding. To prevent infection, the bandages will be moistened with antibiotic or salt solution.
• Fracture surgery. This is one way to treat nasal fracture in its severe case. During surgery, deformed nasal bone will be corrected and the blood clots will be removed through a small cut in the nose. This surgical treatment is also necessary in cases when the nerves and the other parts of the nose are already affected.

There are also certain complications that a patient should be warned about. These are risks that should be taken cared of with the doctor reminding the patients about them. When a patient sustains a broken bone, the following risks should be watched out for:

• Nasal airflow obstruction, which makes breathing more difficult
• Fracture of the ciribrom plate
• Permanent nasal deformity
• Fracture of the orbit or the maxilla, which are other facial bones that might get affected
• Septal hematoma
• Permanent nasal deformity

A patient has to be aware of these things in order to watch out for one’s safety while waiting for the complete recovery of the nasal bone. Healing time might take a few weeks or months so the patient should just follow the doctor’s order to hasten the recovery of the nose.