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Balloon Sinuplasty

Patients suffering from chronic or recurrent sinusitis not responsive to medications may benefit from balloon sinus dilation, as opposed to traditional sinus surgery. This is often determined by the extent of sinus disease noted.

There are significant differences between balloon sinus dilation and sinus surgery. In balloon sinus dilation, tissue is not removed. In sinus surgery, tissue is removed. Therefore, for patients with extensive sinus blockage and/or nasal polyps, sinus surgery is required to remove the obstructing tissue. For patients with mild to moderate findings on CAT scan, balloon sinus dilation may be an option if there is no need to remove tissue.
In certain cases, a hybrid technique is performed to combine the best of both balloon dilation and traditional sinus surgery – providing the patient with a unique treatment in the office setting.

In-office balloon sinus dilation is an effective procedure performed under local anesthesia. At GNO Snoring and Sinus we utilize a proprietary anesthetic technique that does not require injections in most cases. We rely on anesthetic gel that is placed in the nasal passage.

The principle behind in-office balloon sinus dilation is to enlarge the natural sinus drainage ports, in order to facilitate increased clearance of sinus secretions. This improves the body’s natural ability to clear infected secretions, improving the patient’s symptoms.

The entire procedure is performed through the nose using cameras and special instrumentation; therefore, the patient does not have any visible incisions or bruising after the procedure.

The recovery time after in-office balloon sinus dilation is minimal. Many patients can return to work in a few days. Patients are routinely seen 1 week after their procedure to assess their post-operative state.

No packing is used after the procedure in order to maximize patient comfort.

If you would like to learn more about in-office balloon sinus dilation, feel free to contact us for further assessment and treatment.