What are the nasal valves?
We all have internal and external nasal valves in our noses. These areas have a significant impact on the amount of air that can flow through the nose. The internal nasal valve is the space between the nasal septum, the upper lateral cartilage of the sidewall of the nose, and the head of the inferior turbinate. This probably sounds a bit abstract, but to find your internal nasal valves, put your thumb and index finger over the hard nasal bones of your nose and slowly slide them down until you reach a soft area right after the bones end. If you pinch here, you will find that you cannot breathe through your nose—that’s where the internal nasal valves are. There is one on each side of the nose. The external nasal valves are essentially the spaces where our nostrils are.
What is nasal valve collapse?
Nasal valve collapse can occur at the external valve, the internal valve, or both. It is generally caused by weak cartilages and tissues that make up the valves. If you have nasal valve collapse, when you go to breathe in through your nose, the tissues cannot hold themselves up, and collapse inward. This then closes the nose and makes it very difficult or impossible to breathe through the nose. The collapse is dynamic in nature—this means that you usually do not see the nasal valve collapse just by looking at the nose—it occurs when you breathe in, especially forcefully. Therefore, a common compliant of people with nasal valve collapse is that they cannot breathe through their noses when doing exercise or strenuous activities.
Another common theme around nasal valve collapse that we see at the Charleston Sinus Center is if someone has had a septoplasty in the past to fix a deviated septum, but then found that it was still difficult or harder to breathe through the nose, the cause is usually that there is nasal valve collapse present, and it was “unmasked” by fixing the deviated septum. When the septum was deviated, air could not flow through the nose because of the deviated septum, so there was no sign of nasal valve collapse. Then once air was able to flow after the deviated septum was fixed, the collapse became evident, and the person still has trouble breathing through the nose. Fortunately, this can be corrected.
Why Choose Us?
- Board-certified ENT & sinus specialists
- State-of-the-art endoscopic technology
- In-office minimally invasive options like Balloon Sinuplasty
- Comprehensive care plans: diagnosis, surgery, and long-term management
- Proven results: 85% success rate with sinus surgery
What are some quick fixes for nasal valve collapse?
How can nasal valve collapse be permanently corrected?
Since nasal valve collapse is due to structural weakness, long term treatment of nasal valve collapse almost always requires a procedure or surgery. The specific solution is dependent on the nature of the collapse.
For internal nasal valve collapse, many patients can be treated with an absorbable implant that is quickly and easily placed with a short procedure in the office. The implant acts to stiffen the sidewalls of the nose and resist the collapsing forces. The improvement is often immediate, though some patients may need a few weeks for swelling to resolve to notice the difference.
Recovery and return to work is typically in 1-2 days. Since the implant is absorbable, sometimes the nasal valve collapse will return 18-24 months after the procedure is done. If this occurs, you can choose to have the implants placed again, or to have a more involved surgery in the operating room.
The primary benefits of the implant option are its minimally-invasive nature, short downtime, and no change in the appearance of the nose.
permanent solution for nasal valve collapse
The most effective, permanent solution for nasal valve collapse, whether internal or external, is surgery in the operating room, with placement of various cartilage grafts to strengthen and open the areas of collapse. The specific graft types and placement locations vary from patient to patient, and is tailored to each individual’s specific locations of nasal valve collapse.
These procedures are highly effective, and often last a lifetime. However, they can result in some widening of the nose and cause some changes to the nasal appearance, so this has to be taken into account if you are considering such a procedure for your nasal valve collapse. In our experience at the Charleston Sinus Center, once a patient has decided that this potential change in appearance is worth it to be able to breathe through the nose, it is rare that they are bothered by any appearance changes that do occur. If you know or suspect you might have nasal valve collapse, the first step to breathing easier is to reach out to us today and schedule a consultation with one of our ENT specialists.
