In Office Balloon Sinuplasty | Chronic Sinusitis | ENT

Balloon Sinuplasty

Why Balloon Sinuplasty?

Balloon Sinuplasty is provided to our patients in-office and it is covered by most insurance plans.

Sinusitis (also known as rhinosinusitis) is an inflammation of the sinus lining that prevents normal mucus drainage through the nose. Sinusitis is often preceded by a cold or allergy attack. Symptoms of sinusitis include:

Facial pain
Tenderness and swelling around the eyes, cheeks, nose and forehead
Sinus pressure or congestion
Difficulty breathing through the nose
Loss of the sense of smell and / or taste
Sinus headache
Yellow or green mucous from the nose
Teeth pain
Fatigue
Sore throat from nasal discharge
Bad breath

Treatments for sinusitis range from non-invasive treatments such as medications including nasal steroids, antibiotics, decongestants, oral steroids and mucous-thinning drugs to the highly invasive Functional Endoscopic Sinus Surgery (FESS)

Balloon sinuplasty is a less invasive procedure to restore your diseased paranasal sinuses. Unlike traditional sinus surgery, there is no cutting and no removal of bone and tissue in balloon sinuplasty. One of the top advantages of Balloon Sinuplasty is it allows patients to return to normal activities quickly.

At Memorial Village ENT, we are able to provide balloon sinuplasty to our patients in-office under local or general anesthesia. Most patients returned to work and normal activity within 2 days.

Unlike traditional open and endoscopic sinus surgery, balloon sinuplasty has a lower complication rate, less postoperative discomfort and faster recovery time. It is also frequently used together with traditional endoscopic sinus surgery and other procedures to correct unfavorable nasal anatomy. Since its introduction in 2005, it has gained widespread acceptance in the treatment of chronic sinusitis that has failed conventional medical treatment.

What is Balloon Sinuplasty?

Balloon Sinuplasty Surgery uses a tiny balloon catheter that is inserted into the blocked nasal passages. After insertion, the balloon catheter is inflated, opening and restructuring nasal passages. Since no bone or tissue has to be removed, the integrity of the inner lining of the sinus passages is maintained.

Once the balloon is inflated, saline is sprayed into the inflamed sinus passage to remove any mucus, pus, or other infected materials. The balloon catheter is removed, leaving behind an open, clean sinus passage.

With balloon sinuplasty, an ENT surgeon opens inflamed sinuses in the same way that a heart surgeon opens up blocked arteries during balloon angioplasty. Balloon sinuplasty uses a small, flexible, balloon catheter to open up blocked sinus passageways and drain mucus that has built up in patients suffering from chronic sinusitis. The procedure is less invasive than traditional sinus surgery and effective at relieving symptoms of chronic sinusitis. Furthermore, it restructures and widens the walls of the sinus passageway while maintaining the integrity of the sinus lining.

A balloon designed specifically for each sinus is placed intranasally via a Seldinger wire technique under endoscopic guidance into the natural drainage tract of the sinus and then inflated to dilate the natural outflow tract without removing tissue and bone. Irrigation catheters are then inserted after the initial dilation to rinse impacted debris from the sinuses. Antibiotics, antifungals and detergents may also be added to the irrigant to help eradicate underlying sinus disease.