New methods are successfully treating sinusitis.
It usually starts with a slight runny nose. A little later, there is difficulty breathing and a headache that gets worse with almost every movement. It’s sinusitis. If ignored, it can even lead to meningitis. Therefore, the sooner we start treatment, the more effective the therapy will be, the less troublesome and the lower the risk of complications.
For acute sinusitis early, treatment will be limited to medication. If we neglect the ailments and acute sinusitis turns into chronic sinusitis, surgery will be necessary – warns Dr. Michał Michalik, an ENT specialist from the MML Medical Center, who has been treating patients with nose and throat ailments for several years. Depending on the development of the disease and the changes it has caused in the sinuses, doctors offer different treatments.
Until a few years ago, the most common way to open the sinuses was a classic surgery, in which the doctor made incisions on the face and went to the sinuses to clean them. However, it is a procedure that only eliminates the symptoms of inflammation, not its causes. So it does not guarantee that the ailments will not return. That is why ENT specialists recommend it less and less. On the other hand, they are increasingly proposing FEOZ, a functional endoscopic sinus surgery. It is carried out without the need to cut the skin on the face. It consists in removing only those parts of the mucosa that are changed by the disease. It clears the natural connections of the sinuses with the nasal cavity, thus restoring proper sinus ventilation. As a result, they do not accumulate secretion causing inflammation.
After the procedure, which is performed under light anesthesia, the patient returns home the same day. After two or three weeks, he still has to come to a check-up. The procedure can be performed on any patient with sinus problems. It costs 7-8 thousand. zloty.
A modern device called a hydrodebrider is used to rinse the sinuses. It is a type of washer with two specially designed nozzles. They are introduced through the nose and the sinuses are rinsed with an aqueous solution of secretory-dissolving drugs and antibiotics. The fluid relieves the thick and sticky secretions of the cilia in the mucosa, allowing them to move freely and properly cleanse the sinuses. And the drugs administered during the procedure eliminate inflammation, which also improves the movement of the cilia.
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The procedure is performed under full anesthesia. It costs about 3 thousand. PLN, but it can only be used in those patients whose disease is caused by a retention of secretions in the sinuses. If the inflammation is accompanied by other abnormalities, such as a curvature of the nasal septum, polyps, or cysts, this procedure will not be effective in improving sinus ventilation.
The most modern method of treating sick sinuses is endoscopic sinus catheterization (CEZ), commonly known as ballooning or balloonoplasty. It restores the proper functioning of the sinuses, but it can only be performed if the doctor finds abnormalities in the structure or notices cysts or polyps. Therefore, before starting the procedure, he must carefully examine the sinuses.
– Ideally, he will order a 3D computed tomography that will give a three-dimensional image – says Dr. Michalik.
The ballooning procedure consists in inserting a small catheter terminated with a balloon through the nostril, which is filled with a fluid under a pressure of several to several atmospheres. The fluid effectively and permanently clears the sinuses and rinses the residual secretions out of them.
Already three hours after the procedure, the patient returns home, he can breathe freely through his nose, he does not feel pain. After that, he only needs to avoid physical exertion for a week, stop practicing sports and refrain from drinking alcohol. It should also moisturize the nasal mucosa with saline or sea salt preparations. And he has to blow his nose frequently to clear the blocked sinuses as soon as possible. The effect of the treatment is permanent because it eliminates the causes of inflammation.
The procedure is performed under local anesthesia, but at the patient’s request, general anesthesia may be used. It costs 6-10 thousand. zloty. It can be performed in all patients, regardless of age and health condition.
Text: Anna Wilk
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