First, I am 18 and starting college this fall. About 2 years ago I broke my nose, without at the time reaizing it. However recently I have had trouble sleeping at night, largely caused by a stuffy nose and difficulty breathing out of one side at times. At first I thought nothing of it, but a few weeks later the bridge of my nose up to my forehead began to feel irritated and pained quite often. I did a little research and found out that I have a broken nose, specifically a deviated septum. One of my nostrils is about a third larger then the other when breathing normally.

I also have a fairly large bump on the top of the bridge of my nose, resulting in a slightly crooked nose, and to me very noticable irregularities with the rest of my face. I'm not into plastic surgery, tans, etc... I love myself the way that I am. However my nose really does bug me, partially because of the issues I have listed, and less signifigantly due to it's appearance.

My question is if a doctor believes I am suffering breathing problems due to a deviated septum (the nostrils are visibly different sizes), and feels that the pain in my upper nose is being caused by this problem, will they cover the procedure? How do I go about getting something like this fixed. When I am sick I literally can not breathe until I am completely sinus free, I get more headaches now, etc... I truly believe there is a medical problem here. What should I do?

First, I am 18 and starting college this fall. About 2 years ago I broke my nose, without at the time reaizing it. However recently I have had trouble sleeping at night, largely caused by a stuffy nose and difficulty breathing out of one side at times. At first I thought nothing of it, but a few weeks later the bridge of my nose up to my forehead began to feel irritated and pained quite often. I did a little research and found out that I have a broken nose, specifically a deviated septum. One of my nostrils is about a third larger then the other when breathing normally.

I also have a fairly large bump on the top of the bridge of my nose, resulting in a slightly crooked nose, and to me very noticable irregularities with the rest of my face. I'm not into plastic surgery, tans, etc... I love myself the way that I am. However my nose really does bug me, partially because of the issues I have listed, and less signifigantly due to it's appearance.

My question is if a doctor believes I am suffering breathing problems due to a deviated septum (the nostrils are visibly different sizes), and feels that the pain in my upper nose is being caused by this problem, will they cover the procedure? How do I go about getting something like this fixed. When I am sick I literally can not breathe until I am completely sinus free, I get more headaches now, etc... I truly believe there is a medical problem here. What should I do?

Hi!

I was in a fairly similar situation; I had broken my nose playing baseball with my brother (ball in the nose - ouch!) and lived it with for decades, and always hated my nose. Then, about 10 years ago, I was rushing to get into the car to pick up my kids from school, pulled open the car door and smashed the right side of my nose; turns out, the seatbelt had gotten stuck in the door and the door wasn't completely closed. So, when I pulled it open, it was with more force than needed - bam! There was some bleeding and swelling immediately. About two weeks later, I still wasn't able to breathe well. I went to an ear, nose and throat specialist who is also a board certified plastic surgeon. He said that repairing the deviated septum (a bad one) was definitely something that would be covered, as the accident happened while I was covered by BC/BS. I decided to ask him about getting rid of the bump in my nose, and the droopy portion between the nostrils. He said that he didn't charge any differently, or any more to take care of that while performing the other surgery...so, I got rid of the deviated septum and got the nose I always wanted. I am SO glad I did it; I still look like me...just with a refined nose that I can breathe through!

Go for it - you have nothing to lose. Good luck.

Your insurance company is going to be the best place to direct your question to, but some things you will want to ask about are waiting periods and exclusionary periods. If you are new on the policy those may be an issue. Then of course you will want to know what the benefit would be for a surgery, for both the Dr. doing the surgery and the place you will have the surgery at. If this surgery is something that your policy would have coverage for then you need to talk to your Dr. and hopefully have him call the insurance company with the specifics of the surgery to see if it would require any preauthorizations or review.

Hi!

I was in a fairly similar situation; I had broken my nose playing baseball with my brother (ball in the nose - ouch!) and lived it with for decades, and always hated my nose. Then, about 10 years ago, I was rushing to get into the car to pick up my kids from school, pulled open the car door and smashed the right side of my nose; turns out, the seatbelt had gotten stuck in the door and the door wasn't completely closed. So, when I pulled it open, it was with more force than needed - bam! There was some bleeding and swelling immediately. About two weeks later, I still wasn't able to breathe well. I went to an ear, nose and throat specialist who is also a board certified plastic surgeon. He said that repairing the deviated septum (a bad one) was definitely something that would be covered, as the accident happened while I was covered by BC/BS. I decided to ask him about getting rid of the bump in my nose, and the droopy portion between the nostrils. He said that he didn't charge any differently, or any more to take care of that while performing the other surgery...so, I got rid of the deviated septum and got the nose I always wanted. I am SO glad I did it; I still look like me...just with a refined nose that I can breathe through!

Go for it - you have nothing to lose. Good luck.

Where did you go to get this done? Did insurance cover all of the costs? I have the same problem with the deviated septum and crooked nose, but I thought that most doctors charged more for the rhinoplasty aspect of the proceedure.

It should cover it. The only issue might be wheather it was an accident or something else.