Podcast Featuring Dr. Nima Shemirani: What is Nasal Congestion and What You Can Do About It

When I was thinking about topic ideas for my last podcast, I decided to go with a topic that hugely affects me and my everyday life: Nasal Congestion.

For a very long time, I’ve been experiencing difficulty breathing out of one side of my nose due to a deviated septum. I even had surgery fifteen years ago, but unfortunately, my problem is still very present today affecting my entire life.

Therefore, I asked my dear friend and colleague, Dr. Nima Shemirani, to join me on my podcast and discuss this prevalent problem.

Dr. Shemirani is a facial plastic surgeon, but his background in ears, nose, and throat has helped many patients, including myself, to overcome some severe nose issues.

We started the podcast by briefly discussing the causes of nasal congestions. According to Dr. Nima, septum deviation, scar tissue, and incomplete surgery are just a few of the reasons that someone can have a blockage of the nasal passages.

Further, we both shared our own surgical experiences as we have both underwent surgery for a deviated septum. According to Dr. Nima, this specific surgery is performed not only to enable more natural breathing but to improve the physical appearance of both the nose and face as well.

“I have people come in all the time, and they hate smiling because their nose drops. And if you don’t take a good picture when you don’t smile, that affects the quality of life. That’s really what my practice is about; I’m here to improve their quality of life. And whether it’s physically the way you look or even just mentally, I love getting to know my patients. So, I’m all for it,” says Dr. Nima.

We also discussed the importance of smooth breathing and the impact breathing has on the quality of life.

“Breathing is how your body gets oxygen, oxygen is what feeds your muscles, and if you do proper breathing, it’ll release toxins and bring in the good stuff and nutrients. That’s a very simplified way of saying it. But if you can’t breathe, it just really affects a lot of the quality of your life,” says Dr. Nima.

After sharing our experiences with side effects of the nasal congestion we were affected by, we continued discussing the most severe problem there is – the nasal fracture. According to Dr. Nima, letting your nose heal by itself with time is the worst idea. According to his experience, repairing a fractured nose is incredibly better and less painful when the fracture is

fresh, rather than when healed.

We slowly concluded our conversation with an intriguing topic: the future of surgery and the advancement of Robotics used in surgical procedures. As a firm believer in the benefits of robotic surgery, Dr. Nima excitedly shared his story of performing surgery with a robot.

“I just did simple stuff like suturing because you have to have 3D Vision. It’s really cool. So the benefit of the robot, which is awesome, is getting a bunch of instruments into a very small space,” says Dr. Nima.

We had fun while talking about different topics, and I sincerely hope that you will enjoy listening to this podcast as much as we enjoyed making it.

Without any further ado, hit the play button, and if you like it, share it with your friends and family.