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The sinuses can be surgically altered or opened in several different ways, including endoscopic sinus surgery and balloon sinuplasty. The traditional way to address sinuses surgically is called endoscopic sinus surgery. This is a highly effective, minimally invasive procedure typically performed in the operating room under general anesthesia. So the patient is asleep and does not remember or feel anything. And it’s an outpatient procedure, meaning the patient goes home the same day. And the entire procedure is performed through the nostrils without external incisions and without alteration of the facial features. A sinus specialist like myself will use small endoscopes and micro instruments to enlarge the natural openings of the sinuses. And enlarging these openings makes it easier for the sinuses to drain. Even when swollen from inflammation. Sinus surgery is also used to remove nasal polyps, nasal masses, fungal debris, pus, and any other secretions that might be trapped inside the sinuses.
As advances in technology have been adapted to the field of rhinology, safe, effective, and less invasive treatment options have been developed to treat sinusitis. Balloon sinuplasty is one of these advances, and allows us to effectively widen the openings to the sinuses to treat sinusitis, much the same way that blocked arteries are treated during balloon angioplasties. Unlike traditional sinus surgery, balloon sinuplasty does not involve cutting or removal of bone and soft tissue and can be performed in the office under local anesthesia with usually minimal discomfort. So that there is no need to go to the operating room and undergo general anesthesia. During the procedure, a small probe with an overlying balloon is carefully passed through the patient’s nasal cavity and into the sinus openings to be enlarged. Correct placement of the balloon is then confirmed inside the often blocked or narrow natural opening to the sinuses using a real-time navigation system, much like a GPS system in your car. Based on each of the individual patient’s CAT scans, the balloon is then inflated to open and widen the sinus passageways and help to better drain the mucus that often builds up in patients suffering from sinusitis. In addition to avoiding general anesthesia, patients undergoing balloon sinuplasty often experience faster and easier recovery times, and numerous clinical studies have demonstrated that balloon sinuplasty is a safe tool in the management of sinusitis.
