Balloon Sinus Surgery

Many people have experienced a sinus infection in their lifetime. The sinuses are mostly located inside the nostrils. But, most people have sinuses that are located in the forehead, in the cheeks as well as between the eyes. These sinuses are connected to the nose through small tubes and mucous is regularly drained out from these sinuses through these tubes and thence through nose and finally down the back of our throat and then swallowed by us.

Sinusitis is caused by the inflammation of the sinus linings. There is a sizeable population that suffers from chronic sinusitis. Generally, any sinusitis that is not cured within three months is considered to be “Chronic”. Sometimes, surgery is required for draining out mucous from sinuses.

In traditional sinus surgery, tissues are removed around the sinus openings by using instruments and cameras through the nostril, to assist in sinus drainage. A new technology in sinus surgery has been introduced now. This is called Balloon Sinus Surgery or Balloon Sinuplasty. Instead of removing tissues, this technique moves the bones and lining with the nose for opening the sinuses. Because, this procedure does not remove any tissue, there is less bleeding and healing time is less.

Traditional sinus surgery is not a major surgery and patients are released on the same day of surgery. But, this operation has to be done under general anesthesia. In case of balloon surgery, a balloon catheter, similar to one used in cardiac angioplasty, is inserted through the sinus opening. By inflating this balloon, the bone and the tissues around the openings are moved to open the sinus drainage pathway.

But this technique does not work for everybody. The patient should consult an ENT specialist. A sinus CT scan requires to be carried to decide whether the problem could be solved using surgical technique. Sometimes, balloon technique is used along with traditional surgical method to get the best result.

Sinus surgery is quite successful in reducing the severity and frequency of nasal symptoms of chronic sinusitis in most patients. The balloon surgery has been found to be quite safe for the treatment of chronic sinusitis. A study in 2008 has shown that 95% patients have reported improvement while 74% were freed from the problem when they were followed up after eight months.

One advantage of this procedure is it takes very little time. The procedure is generally over within one or two hours. The time periods depends on the severity of the case.

The patient is allowed to go home within a few hours. This procedure has risks involved, as with any other surgical procedure.
Therefore, persons suffering from chronic sinusitis could consider Balloon Sinus Surgery for the treatment of their condition.