Septoplasty in China: The Parts No One Warns You About (And How It Changed My Riding)

I had septoplasty at the end of April 2026.

Looking back, the surgery itself was not the hardest part. What really stayed with me were the details no one fully explains beforehand — the waiting, the discomfort, and the unexpected challenges during recovery.

Here’s what my experience was actually like.

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April 29: Admission and pre-surgery checks

I was admitted to the hospital on April 29 for examinations and preparation. Everything felt routine at this stage, and the surgery still felt like something abstract.

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April 30: Surgery day

I had to fast from the morning and wait.

Because I was relatively young, the operating room prioritized elderly patients and children. My surgery was scheduled later in the day, around 3 PM.

The waiting was longer than I expected.

The surgery itself was done under general anesthesia. I didn’t feel anything — it was like falling asleep and waking up afterward.

When I woke up, I felt dizzy and disoriented, almost like being drunk. I was even talking nonsense without realizing it.

Both of my nostrils were completely packed with expanding sponges, so I could only breathe through my mouth.

At that moment, I thought:
“Okay, I just have to breathe through my mouth for a while. Not a big deal.”

I was wrong.

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The first real challenge: eating

That night, when I tried to eat, I understood the situation much better.

Every swallow became difficult.

Because my nose was fully blocked and my mouth had to close during swallowing, a negative pressure would build up inside my mouth. This made swallowing uncomfortable and unnatural.

It felt like something was resisting the motion.

I had to be extremely careful not to choke.

And one thing became very clear:
Sneezing would have been a disaster.

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May 2: Removing the nasal packing

Two days later, on May 2, the nasal packing was removed.

Before that, both the doctor and the endoscopy staff told me to prepare mentally — there might be a lot of bleeding.

But in reality, it wasn’t as dramatic as I expected.

There was no heavy bleeding at the moment of removal. Instead, there was slow, mild oozing afterward.

As long as I avoided lowering my head or making sudden movements, the bleeding was manageable.

At that point, I thought the hardest part was over.

I was wrong again.

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The unexpected part: infection

Shortly after, I developed bacterial sinusitis.

This led to a prolonged low-grade fever.

Ironically, the surgery itself went relatively well, and the physical discomfort from the procedure was manageable. But the recovery became much harder because of this infection.

The low fever dragged on and affected my overall condition much more than I expected.

This is something I didn’t prepare for at all.

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What I learned

1. The surgery is not the hardest part — recovery is

2. Nasal packing is more uncomfortable than painful, but it changes basic things like eating

3. The removal process is less scary than it sounds

4. Complications like infection can make recovery much harder

5. After surgery, your nose is very vulnerable — protecting it matters

If I could give one practical piece of advice:

Wear a mask after surgery, especially in the early recovery stage.

Your nasal passages are sensitive and exposed, and avoiding infection is more important than you think.

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How this changed my cycling

This is something I didn’t expect to matter so much.

After recovery, both of my nostrils became much clearer. For the first time, I could breathe smoothly through my nose.

During easy rides, I can now ride with my mouth closed — something that felt impossible before.

Breathing feels more efficient, more natural, and more controlled.

It also improved my sleep.

I no longer wake up feeling suffocated at night, and better sleep means better recovery. And better recovery directly improves cycling performance.

Looking back, I realized something simple:

Breathing is not just a basic function — it’s a performance factor.

If your breathing is limited, everything else becomes harder.

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Final thoughts

Septoplasty helped, but it was not an “easy fix.”

It’s a process — physically and mentally.

If you are considering this surgery, don’t just prepare for the operation itself. Prepare for the recovery, the discomfort, and the possibility that things may not go perfectly.

But if breathing has been a long-term issue for you, the improvement can go beyond daily comfort — it can even change how you ride.

Thank you for reading. I hope you found this helpful.