Is It Time for Nasal Surgery?

Have you tried just about everything for your sinus problems? Surgery may be the answer to help you finally find some relief. Read on for some signs that surgery may be the solution for you.

How Can Nasal Surgery Help?

Surgery is typically the last-resort solution after more conservative treatments have failed, such as saline rinses for the sinuses, antibiotics, intranasal steroid sprays, and allergy treatments. Despite these therapies, you may still have painful symptoms that persist for months, such as sinus congestion, facial pressure and discomfort, postnasal drainage, and difficulty breathing through the nose. Surgery may be recommended because of these symptoms, or because you have a nasal obstruction such as damaged sinus tissue or polyps. It can also help if you have a structural problem that keeps sinuses from draining properly or even a fungal infection.

Your doctor may recommend functional endoscopic sinus surgery (FESS), which is done to correct structural abnormalities in the nose. FESS is performed using a small camera (called an “endoscope”), which allows the doctor to strategically remove and/or reposition tissue in the nose that is preventing proper drainage. This surgery is typically performed in a surgery center or a hospital setting, and the patient is sedated with general and/or local anesthesia. In most cases the patient can go home the same day of the procedure and get back to normal activities within a week.

Another possibility is balloon sinuplasty, which is done to restructure the sinus opening and to prevent future sinus infections and blockage. During this procedure, a small balloon catheter is inserted into the inflamed sinus. The balloon is inflated to enlarge the sinus, and then it is deflated and removed. This can often be performed as an in-office procedure and is done under general or local anesthesia.

The word “surgery” may be scary, and a nasal surgery procedure may sound like an extreme solution – but it’s not! Nasal surgeries are very commonly performed procedures. If you can’t seem to find relief from your sinus problems no matter what you’ve tried, surgery may be the answer. Contact Lakeside Allergy ENT, with offices in Rockwall and Forney. Call (972) 771-5443 for a consultation today!