Sinus Surgery
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If you have chronic sinus swelling or infections that keep coming back, we first treat you with medicine, like steroids or antibiotics, or by flushing your nose and sinuses with saline.
When these treatments don't work, sinus surgery can help improve your symptoms of:
- Nasal congestion
- Thick nasal drainage
- Facial pressure
- Loss of smell
- Recurrent infections
Sinus Surgery & Chronic Sinusitis
These procedures may help heal nasal congestion, facial pressure and recurrent infections associated with moderate to chronic sinusitis.
Balloon sinuplasty is a relatively recent development in a surgical option for the management of chronic or recurrent sinusitis. It uses balloons, similar to angioplasty for helping the vessels of the heart function better, to open up the sinus openings so that they can drain better and so that medications can get into the sinuses better in order to improve patient symptoms. Right now, the evidence shows that balloon sinuplasty is best suited for people with mild to moderate chronic sinusitis or inflammation of the sinuses or patients who have recurrent sinus infections of four or more a year usually.
The procedure is an outpatient procedure, so people do not have to spend the night in the hospital. And, oftentimes, can be done in the office, and patients are on their way in under an hour. Like most surgical procedures, there is some minor discomfort, but we really have perfected options for decreasing as much of that pain and discomfort as possible. The benefit of balloon sinuplasty can often be seen right away in improving patients' symptoms. Sometimes though, the combination of the sinuplasty plus continued medical therapy may take a week or two at least for patients notice an improvement.
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How Sinus Surgery Benefits You
Balloon Sinuplasty™: Balloon Sinus Surgery
During this procedure, we use a specially designed balloon to open up your sinus cavity. We then flush out any pus and mucus blocking the sinuses. Afterward, the sinuses stay open. This relieves pressure while allowing for normal drainage.
This simple procedure, often called sinuplasty:
- Offers faster recovery time — you can return to your daily routine within an hour
- Has less risk of scarring and infection
- Can be done in the clinic
- Requires no general anesthesia
- Does not involve cutting tissue
At UVA, our sinus surgeons have extensive experience performing balloon sinuplasty.
Endoscopic Sinus Surgery
Depending on your condition, balloon sinuplasty isn't always the right choice. Instead, you may need endoscopic sinus surgery.
With this procedure, no incisions or cuts are made on your face (unless the surgeon decides they are needed). We use small cameras, about the size of a pencil, that go through your nostrils and show the inside of your nose and sinuses on a screen. We widen your nasal openings using tools that remove small pieces of bone and tissue from the inside of the nose.
Sinus surgery isn't necessarily a cure. But it can significantly improve symptoms and make it easier for your medicine and other treatments to reach your sinuses.
About the Surgery
- The procedure lasts between a few minutes to a few hours, depending on what needs to be done. You should plan to spend at least a half a day at the hospital or surgery center.
- General anesthesia is required. You'll feel groggy for a day or so afterward.
- Most people have very little pain and use Tylenol to manage it.
At UVA, we only use small amounts of dissolvable foam to help the inside of your nose heal. We don't put painful gauze or packing in your nose.
You and your doctor together choose the best treatment for you, depending on the nature of your condition.
What Will This Cost?
Get a general idea of what you'll have to pay: Use calculators, see price lists, or ask for a personalized estimate.