What You Should Know about Balloon Sinuplasty
The balloon sinuplasty procedure is a relatively new one that was only approved by the Food & Drug Administration in 2005 as safe for use. In some medical facilities, this procedure is known as Smart Sinus Surgery. The use of balloon sinuplasty was born from the angioplasty procedure that uses a balloon to open the passageway in blood vessels and limit the chance of clots forming in the veins.
How Does Balloon Sinuplasty Work?
In the past, there were many different procedures undertaken to try and allow the inflammation and damage to a nose that is in place when a person suffers from conditions such as sinusitis. These included the use of different medications and a surgical procedure known as Functional Endoscopic Sinus Surgery that was an invasive procedure with portions of the interior of the nose removed.
In contrast, the Balloon Sinuplasty procedure is undertaken in the office of your physician and sees the nasal area numbed to reduce the level of pain and discomfort that will be felt. A physician will also spray decongestants into the nose to help reduce the inflammation and blockage that is causing long-term discomfort.
The balloon catheter is then inserted into the nose with the doctor monitoring its progress using a camera and lights to make sure it reaches the correct area of the nose. The catheter is then inflated for around ten seconds, but the overall time it is inflated for varies with each patient. In total, studies have shown patients average around 70 minutes in the physician’s office from arrival to departure when undergoing balloon sinuplasty procedures.
Why Undergo Balloon Sinuplasty
The majority of people who a physician recommends undertaking Balloon Sinuplasty are being affected by a medical condition that causes a blockage of their nose leading to problems sleeping, breathing, and other medical conditions. There are many reasons why a physician will recommend the use of balloon sinuplasty, but it does not work for some conditions, such as nasal polyps.
A High Success Rate
Over the last two decades in which the use of balloon sinuplasty has been in operation, the success rate for the majority of patients has been high. In recent studies, the success rate of both adults and children who have chronic cases of sinusitis with over a 90 percent success rate.
Throughout two studies, one focusing on children and the other on an adult group of patients saw the effects still in place between three and six months after balloon sinuplasty in the adult patients and one year after the procedure in children.
Using balloon sinuplasty has become a popular and successful procedure for those who are struggling to cope with nasal issues that can lead to major problems. Along with the reported cases of insomnia, some cases of jaw ache have also been reported that can be eased with the use of balloon sinuplasty.
