Surgery for Chronic Sinusitis

According to the CDC, more than 29.4 million adults have been diagnosed with sinusitis. More importantly, at least 11.7 million people have visited physician offices with a primary diagnosis of chronic sinusitis, a condition that is hard to treat with medications. This statistic puts severity of the disorder into perspective. Patients with chronic sinusitis require surgical treatment and sinusitis procedures like balloon sinuplasty can provide relief.

Why Is Chronic Sinusitis Hard to Treat?

Chronic sinusitis is harder to treat with sinus medications. Medication are less effective at stopping the disorder from causing symptoms like ear pain, aching, fatigue, nausea and sinus headaches. However, surgical treatment is an effective means of relieving the condition’s symptoms.

Sinus medication are less effective because chronic sinusitis is a recurring condition. It can be caused by several factors, including nasal polyps, a deviated septum, preexisting medical conditions, infections and allergies. These factors do not subside on their own. For example, nasal polyps and a deviated septum are obstructions, which cannot be fixed by any medications.

Sinusitis Procedures

Thankfully, there are several sinusitis procedures that provide relief. Patients should know what their options are in order to make an informed decision. Here are the surgeries for chronic sinusitis:

• Functional Endoscopic Sinus Surgery (FESS) – FESS is the most common sinusitis procedure. Doctor’s use a nasal endoscope to find the cause of your obstruction, then they operate on the affected area. Unfortunately, this procedure is quite invasive. It requires shaving, cutting and removing bone and tissues from the sinuses. This can cause extreme bleeding, weeks of discomfort and a long recovery time.
• Balloon Sinuplasty – The balloon sinuplasty is a surgery that has been around for almost a decade. It is a minimally invasive attempt at solving chronic sinusitis without harming the patient in the process – and it works. Balloon sinuplasty foregoes the traditional method of cutting bone and tissue. Instead it expands the sinuses by using a balloon catheter. Your nasal cavities are irrigated in order to remove built up bacteria and mucus. In the end, your sinusitis is relieved, there is minimal bleeding and most patients recover in 1-2 days.

Balloon Sinuplasty Complications: Are There Any?

There are very few issues with balloon sinuplasty. Some complications include minimal bleeding, swelling and mild discomfort. As we have discussed before, recovery times are quick, so patients will not have to deal with this minor inconveniences for too long. With more than 380,000 patients safely treated with balloon sinuplasty, this sinusitis procedure is an optimal choice for long lasting relief and a better life.