• Almost 29 million people in the U.S. suffer from chronic sinusitis.
• Balloon sinuplasty is less invasive, carries and a lower risk and has a shorter recovery period than traditional sinus surgery.
• Average recovery time for a balloon sinuplasty patient is one to two days.
Chronic sinusitis affects 28.9 million American adults, or 11% of the adult population, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Chronic sinusitis is responsible for 4.1 million doctor visits and more than 230,000 emergency room visits each year.
“How we address sinuses surgically has changed over the last two decades,” Dr. Manish Khanna of Capitol Breathe Free Sinus & Allergy Centers told Gateway Reporter. “Initially in the ’80s, the more you removed, the better it was, but those tissues are there for a reason. Our nasal anatomy, our nasal passages have a function of warming, moisturizing. It’s almost a barrier, in a sense, a filter for all the evil that we breathe that’s coming into our bodies. So it’s really become more of a directed minimally invasive procedure, making the openings to the sinus cavities more functional. With the advent of balloon sinuplasty, where there is really no tissue removal, you are making the openings bigger without doing any aggressive cutting. Recovery times are much improved. Patients are getting back to normal activities, their normal lives, quickly, and this balloon technology is getting better and better. It’s getting less invasive and more directed, more accurate and easier for us as the surgeons.”
Chronic sinusitis is one of the most common chronic medical conditions among Americans, and it can have a negative effect on quality of life, according to the National Center for Biotechnology Information (NCBI). The NCBI conducted a study comparing patients who underwent functional endoscopic sinus surgery (FESS) with patients who opted for a balloon sinuplasty to treat chronic sinusitis and found that, although both procedures are effective, balloon sinuplasty patients needed fewer antibiotic treatment after the procedure.
FESS involves removing sinus tissue, while balloon sinuplasty is “less traumatic” since the procedure relies on dilation to improve sinus function.
A balloon sinuplasty procedure lasts 10 to 15 minutes, and patients typically recover within one to two days. Most patients can resume their normal activities in that time period, although they may experience some swelling for up to a week, according to Dr. Bradley Eisemann of Eisemann Plastic Surgery Center. FESS procedures take one and a half to two hours, and patients might need up to four weeks to fully recover, during which time they should avoid strenuous activities such as exercising.
If you’re interested in more information about diagnosis or treatment of chronic sinusitis, take this Sinus Self-Assessment Quiz.
