Minnie- you hit the nail right on the head- Surgeons really should hire a 'public relations' person to answer the questions & it really would make the patient much more comfortable with the whole ordeal. I understand Surgeons are very busy people and don't resent that, but it really would be nice to have concerns addressed in a patient and understanding manner. I'm not good one on one & just get sorta intimidated when I feel like someone feels rushed or can't relate with their patient & I kinda clam up and can't think of the questions I have & just end up nodding alot and saying uh huh all whiule trying desperately to remember what I wanted to ask. Swearingen did answer some questions when I did ask, however, his answers were very basic & not informative- for instance, he said 'You have a screen there & it's hard to shake anything loose that's behind it' So I'm like "uh huh' but was left wondering- how hard is too hard when blowing my nose? That clump this A.M was unnerving & I thought "My gosh, I've overdone it' & when I called, I was just kinda left with the feeling that he thought "Geez, what a ninny- worrying about something like that" - I kinda felt foolish for even bringing it up with him. I don't care if that's just his personality- I can accept that, (I myself am better at sitting down and typing out my thoughts than I am when meeting with people and talking one on one- I'm just not a quick thinker/talker, and don't relate well with people when trying to explain things to them) but my gosh, like you say, at least hire someone knowledgeable that is more understanding of a patients needs and concerns- especially knowing that for this type of surgery, people are naturally going to be rightfully nervous- especially when not given any specifics. Gloria, that's probably exactly what is happening- either that or it's like a portion of skin and/or fat, or perhaps a portion of the tumor or something that was knocked loose, or scraped loose during the operation & just lodged somewhere & is now worked it's way out. But my goodness, I had no idea and all I was told was 'be careful when blowing your nose so as not to damage the plug area- no hard 'nose sneezing' etc." & I kept reading about people who have had this operation who have not had good seals & developped problems with leaking afterwards etc. The fella next to me in recovery had that problem infact & so Ijust kinda got a bit nervous hwen it happened. The worst part was how the Doc handled it & made me feel kinda dumb for even bringing it up. The worst part is that I've felt so poopy for so long that I don't even know when I 'get sick'. I just think I'm having a bit worse day. I'm not sure I would even know that I was developping a problem. The Doc said on Friday that "I sounded 'congested' & I'm thinking to myself "Really? this is how I always sound- I thought I actually sounded better' lol. It wasn't until I mentioned that I had 'an oder like musty socks' that he mentioned that I might have a sinus infection. He never did tell me to be on the alert for either a bad oder or taste after the operation. I thought that maybe it was just the after effects of annestesia- or that my ulcers from the Crohn's disease was acting up again- because sometimes I develope a bad taste in mouth when that happens. This all makes me wanna study up pit surgery just so I can apply for a 'publics relations' specialist job- just for Docs like swearingen Chris- I'll send ya an email shortly- I'll try to answer any questions you have & tell you exactly what I experienced | 