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• Balloon sinuplasty is a straightforward procedure with minimal complications.
• 91% of patients said they would have the procedure again.
• 85% of patients reported improvement two years after having the procedure.
Balloon sinuplasty is considered the gold standard for treating chronic sinus problems. During the procedure, a tiny catheter with a balloon attached is inserted into the nasal cavity and slowly inflated to open blocked sinuses. The balloon is then deflated and removed, allowing the patient to breathe better.
"Obviously those patients that have recurrent infections, mild to moderate disease, are going to do well with balloon sinuplasty," Dr. Monty Trimble of Dallas Breathe Free Sinus & Allergy Centers said. "But there are patients, for whom the balloon is very much a great tool to open up the sinuses, sometimes there may be something that has to be irrigated out of the sinuses that can also be done at the same setting. Sometimes people may have something that needs to be removed from the sinuses, but using balloon sinuplasty can also be a great tool to accomplish that as well. I find that almost every patient who has a sinus or nasal issue can potentially be a good candidate for balloon sinuplasty.”
An early intervention not only increases patients' quality of life, but also provides lasting relief and reduces out-of-pocket health care costs, according to Otolaryngology--Head and Neck Surgery.
The American Journal of Rhinology & Allergy reports that patients tolerate in-office balloon procedures well, with an average pain score in one study of 2.8.
Patients who chose in-office balloon sinuplasty, on average, needed only 1.4 days of recovery, compared to 4.2 days for patients who had traditional surgical interventions, according to the journal Laryngoscope. Ninety-one percent of patients said they would have a balloon procedure again, while less that 50 percent of functional endoscopic sinus surgery patients said they would have the procedure again, according to the American Journal of Rhinology & Allergy.
A previous study by Otolaryngology–Head and Neck Surgery Foundation concluded that 85% of patients still reported improvements with their sinus symptoms two years after having the procedure.
Symptoms of sinus disease include inflammation of the sinuses, sinus headache, maxillary sinus pain and thick, discolored discharge, according to Mayo Clinic.
To learn more about the balloon sinuplasty procedure, begin by taking a Sinus Self-Assessment Quiz.