While turbinates reduction is generally safe, potential downsides and complications include temporary post-operative bleeding, localized nasal crusting, infection, and a temporary paradoxical feeling of nasal stuffiness during the initial weeks of healing. More serious, albeit rare, downsides involve excessive tissue removal, which can lead to prolonged hemorrhage, crusting, loss of smell, and the debilitating condition known as empty nose syndrome, where patients experience a chronic, distressing sensation of suffocation despite having wide-open nasal passages.