Chronic Sinusitis and Endoscopic Sinus Surgery

Chronic sinusitis is an illness characterized by prolonged infection and inflammation of the lining of the nose and the sinuses. Patients with chronic sinusitis experience a variety of symptoms, including facial pressure, nasal congestion, discolored nasal discharge, and “post-nasal drip.” For the majority of patients with sinusitis, infections can be successfully treated with medications.

For a small percentage of patients, infections recur or persist even after long courses of medications. Such patients often benefit from surgery. After reviewing your medical history and x-ray studies, your ear, nose, and throat specialist can determine if you are a surgical candidate.

When Surgery Is Required

At Century ENT, we specialize in endoscopic sinus surgery, a method tailored to open up sinuses’ natural drainage routes and reinstate their health and function. Chronic sinusitis often obstructs these passages due to inflammation, causing nasal secretions to be trapped and leading to chronic infection.

The surgical procedure aims to remove, with great care, the thin bone and mucous membranes impeding the sinus drainage pathways. The “endoscopic” in the name signifies our use of minuscule fiberoptic telescopes. These innovative tools allow the Century ENT team to perform the entire procedure through the nostrils, avoiding skin incisions.

We generally carry out this surgery on an outpatient basis and under general anesthesia, ensuring you are comfortably asleep throughout the procedure. Our commitment is to make your sinus health our top priority.

Risks

As with any surgical procedure, endoscopic sinus surgery has associated risks. Although the chance of complications occurring is very small, it is important that you understand the potential complications and ask your surgeon about any concerns you may have.

The most common risks include pain, bleeding, scar tissue, or recurrent disease. There are other less common risks of surgery.

Conclusion

We at Century ENT are committed to providing you with the highest level of care in a comfortable and caring environment. We want you to have as complete an understanding as possible about your sinus condition and about our recommendations for treatment. Please feel free to ask questions about any aspect of your care, and we will be happy to make sure that all of your questions have been answered.