Photo: Nancy Eason
Baltimore does have its share of sinusitis sufferers thanks to the humidity and allergens in our air. We can offer kudos to ear, nose and throat specialists here, however. Also known as ENTs or otolaryngologists, they have assured that a new outpatient treatment for sinusitis is more readily available in Baltimore. The balloon sinuplasty is considered to be a minimally invasive surgery and can tout a faster recovery than traditional sinus surgery.
"All of the major hospitals in the Baltimore area, academic and private, have physicians on staff who are trained and doing sinuplasty [at this time]," said a representative from Acclarent, the company that manufactures the balloon device for sinuplasty.
Dr. Warren Rothman, an otolaryngologist with St. Joseph Medical Center in Towson, said they are offering sinuplasty for adults. Asked if this was performed on children, Dr. Rothman said, "Sinus surgery is very uncommon in children, but in an older adolescent, I believe it would be as safe as any other sinus surgery procedure." Other than for children, age is not considered to be a barrier for having sinuplasty.
Balloon sinuplasty also has the advantage of not requiring cutting during surgery. The procedure involves the use of a very thin, flexible wire that is introduced into the sinus and guided by a lighted tip. The balloon is guided over the wire and inflated with a liquid. This provides space in the sinus opening for drainage.
Sinuplasty is not designed for every case of sinusitis. Dr. Rothman said, "I would not use this procedure if I thought there could be a tumor in the sinus because of the need to get tissue for a biopsy. Also, I would not do this procedure if there is already an intracrancial extension of the infection.
'"It's really helpful for people with bad sinus pressure problems to improve airflow through the sinuses," said Dr. Robert Clayton, St. Joseph's head of otolaryngology,'" for a recent hospital press release. '"People with bad polyps or severe, repeated sinus infections are probably not candidates."'
Response from patients seems to be good. "I haven't had any negative responses from patients as yet, and the sinus CT shows improvement in all the sinuses that had been treated with a balloon, but not everyone has had post op films," Dr. Rothman noted. Ah, relief just in time for spring.
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