Metro Lex News

Many people experience a sinus infection occasionally, but those with chronic issues might be wondering what options exist that could effectively reduce the frequency of recurring sinusitis.

While most sinus infections will clear up naturally, or with help from antibiotics and other over-the-counter medications, chronic sinus infections could require more extensive procedures like surgery for patients to be able to find relief.

"The sinuses, they are air-filled pockets, and a lot of times allergies, smoke, secondhand smoke will cause a blockage of the opening of the sinus. What we used to do years ago is go in surgically and grossly open those up, and it left a lot of trauma, a lot of swelling," Dr. Daniel Mongiardo of Dr. Daniel Mongiardo Sleep & Sinus Center told Metro Lex News.

The goal of sinus surgery is to relieve a patient's symptoms and reduce the number of sinus infections a patient gets, according to WebMD. Along with improving symptoms and cutting down on the number of sinus infections, a sinus surgery can also benefit patients by allowing better breathing, reducing chronic congestion and restoring a patient's sense of smell or taste. Today some options are minimally invasive, and patients can get back to their normal routines relatively quickly.

"When I first started practicing several years ago, the surgery for sinusitis was very aggressive, and it was not very successful, to be quite frank. And then we went to endoscopic sinus surgery, which was a great advancement both in recovery time and success rates," Mongiardo said.  "But over the past few years, we've gone to balloon sinuplasty. That's a minimally invasive procedure that we do in the office. The recovery time is almost zero, Patients are back to doing whatever they want to do the next day. The success rate is much greater versus endoscopic sinus surgery."

Mongiardo said that, according to literature published about endoscopic sinus surgery, the success rate is between 70 and 72%. For balloon sinuplasty, the success rate for the procedure is 90% or higher. 

Endoscopy requires a doctor to insert very thin and flexible instruments called endoscopes into the nose. One has a camera to send images back to a screen, and the other has instruments to remove polyps, scar tissue or other obstructions causing nasal blockages. Endoscopy is generally done with a local anesthetic, so the patient remains awake and recovery time is quick, according to WebMD. 

For balloon sinuplasty, the doctor inserts a balloon into the sinuses and inflates it to clear the passageway, allowing the sinuses to drain more effectively. In some instances, it can be performed as an outpatient procedure with a local anesthetic.

If you are experiencing chronic sinus issues, take Dr. Daniel Mongiardo's sinus quiz to see if talking to a doctor may help.