Newswise — Before people with sinusitis resort to having a balloon put up their nose as an alternative to surgery, they need to know that balloon sinusplasty requires actual surgery and the use of radiation and is appropriate only for 5 to 10 percent of patients, according to Loyola University Health System's Nasal Sinus Center, one of the hospitals in the Chicago area to offer the procedure.
The hollow spaces around a person's eyes, nose and cheeks are sinuses. If the mucous membranes inside the sinuses and nose become inflamed or infected, the normal drainage of fluids is interrupted. The results can be a stuffy or runny nose, headache, cough and sometimes fever. Some 37 million people in the U.S. have sinusitis.
"Many sinus problems can effectively be treated with medication and do not require any procedure," said sinus expert Dr. James Stankiewicz, chair, department of otolaryngology - head and neck surgery, Loyola University Health System.
"For difficult sinus problems, such as removing bone to open up the sinus for drainage, endoscopic sinus surgery is required," said Stankiewicz, professor, department of otolaryngology - head and neck surgery, Loyola University Stritch School of Medicine.
Stankiewicz, who is trained and certified in balloon sinusplasty, said the new procedure should not be used to treat any sinus condition that involves:
-nasal polyps, a common condition with sinusitis
-marked mucosal thickening (inflamed mucous membranes) in the sinuses located in the forehead, in the cheeks, between the eyes, or toward the middle of the skull.
-fungal sinusitis
-large cysts or mucoceles (sacs) of the sinuses
"In addition, some people cannot tolerate or do not want to be subjected to radiation," said Stankiewicz. "Balloon sinusplasty uses fluoroscopy, a radioactive imaging technique which produces live X-rays of instruments and anatomy."
Not wanting to deflate all hope for this new procedure, Stankiewicz said balloon sinusplasty works well among people who have simple sinus problems related to a narrowed sinus drainage area, with or without fluid. Usually involved are the forehead sinuses and the sinuses located behind the eyes.
"Balloon sinusplasty is not performed in the physician's office but in the operating room under endoscopic visualization and fluoroscopic guidance," he said.Stankiewicz specializes in the treatment of sinus disorders, nose disorders and computer-assisted endoscopic sinus surgery, a minimally invasive technique which unblocks the sinuses, along with balloon sinusplasty.
Visit the Loyola University Health System Web site http://www.luhs.org or call (708) 216-5192 for more information on sinus treatments. To make an appointment with a Loyola physician, call (708) 327-1000.
Loyola University Health System, a wholly owned subsidiary of Loyola University Chicago (LUC), includes the private teaching hospital at Loyola University Medical Center (LUMC), 17 specialty and primary care centers in the western and southwestern suburbs, the Loyola Ambulatory Surgery Center at Oakbrook and the Loyola Oakbrook Terrace Imaging Center; and serves as co-owner-operator of RML Specialty Hospital, a long-term-care facility for ventilator-dependent patients in suburban Hinsdale, Ill. Loyola is nationally recognized for its specialty care and groundbreaking research in cancer, neurological disorders, neonatology and the treatment of heart disease. The 61-acre medical center campus in Maywood, Ill., includes the 523-bed Loyola University Hospital with a Level I trauma center, the region's largest burn unit, one of the Midwest's most comprehensive organ transplant programs, the Russo Surgical Pavilion and the Ronald McDonald® Children's Hospital of LUMC. Also on campus are Loyola's Center for Heart & Vascular Medicine, the Cardinal Bernardin Cancer Center, Loyola Outpatient Center and LUC Stritch School of Medicine. The medical school includes the Cardiovascular Institute, Oncology Institute, Burn & Shock Trauma Institute, Neuroscience Institute and the Neiswanger Institute for Bioethics and Health Policy.
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