The recovery time for endoscopic endonasal brain surgery is 6 to 8 weeks for full recovery.
After 6 to 8 weeks you should be fully recovered from endoscopic endonasal brain surgery and your nose should be fully healed.
You may also feel tired for 7 to 10 days after the endoscopic endonasal brain surgery and you should limit activities such as walking or climbing stairs for the first 2 days after the surgery.
The endonasal procedure is a minimally invasive surgical procedure that allows the surgeon to go through your nose to operate on areas at the front of your brain and the top of your spine.
During an endonasal procedure a thin tube that is called an endoscope is thread through the nose and sinuses.
An endonasal procedure is also called endoscopic endonasal surgery.
Endoscopic endonasal surgery can be used to remove tumors in areas near the base of your brain or skull, and at the top of the spine.
The endonasal procedure can also be used to treat problems with the sinuses.
This approach allows the surgeon to reach these areas without the need for large incisions or removal of parts of the skull.
For routine cases, endonasal surgery often takes two hours from the time anesthesia is administered.
More complex cases may take from four to six hours.
After the endonasal surgery you may experience nasal congestion, nausea, headaches, and pain after surgery.
However, these symptoms will be managed by medication.
If your vital signs (heart rate, breathing rate, blood pressure, and temperature) require closer monitoring, you may spend a night in the intensive care unit (ICU).
The risks of endonasal surgery include.
Reactions to the anesthesia.
Excessive bleeding.
Hematoma (a pooling of blood in the wound site)
Damage to veins, arteries, nerves, and other structures in the area.
Cerebrospinal fluid leaking from the nose.
Infection.
Slow healing.
Blood clots.
You should expect some nasal and sinus pressure and pain for the first several days after the endonasal surgery.
This may feel like a sinus infection or a dull ache in your sinuses.
Extra-strength acetaminophen should relieve mild discomfort.
Endonasal surgery is typically performed with monitored anesthesia care (MAC), a form of intravenous sedation that relaxes you and induces "twilight sleep."
Because of this, you need to take the same dietary precautions as with any other type of anesthesia.
You will have to sleep with your head elevated for 24-48 hours after endonasal surgery to help the bleeding slow down and help the swelling resolve.
Prior to the endonasal surgery, set up your bed with at least two pillows so you can prop your head up at night.