What is Balloon Sinuplasty?
Learn More About Balloon Sinuplasty in Houston from Dr. Ben Cilento
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Blocked sinus pathways create pressure and cause sinusitis.
The balloon is positioned and gently inflated, remodeling the sinus pathways.
Open sinus pathways restore drainage and allow for fewer infections and clearer breathing.
Who Is A Good Candidate for Balloon Sinuplasty?
What does Balloon Sinuplasty Cost?
Your insurance coverage depends on your specific provider and plan. Our patient care coordinator along with our billing team will work with you to understand your coverage. They will also help with determining the cost of your balloon sinuplasty.
Balloon Sinuplasty Snoring
Balloon Sinuplasty vs Traditional Sinus Surgery
Balloon sinuplasty offers a much easier solution for chronic sinusitis. The procedure doesn’t involve any removal of bone, cartilage, or tissue. Because of this, there is little to no downtime or loss of work.
In contrast, traditional sinus surgery requires the patient to be under general anesthesia. The patient should expect 3-5 days of recovery time. They also must limit strenuous exercise or activity for a couple weeks.
Often we can perform balloon sinuplasty with the patient under only local anesthesia. There is minimal or no bleeding and low post-procedure pain. There are also very few restrictions on activity post op.
What Are The Risks of Balloon Sinuplasty?
This procedure is safer than traditional sinuplasty because it is minimally invasive. Balloon sinuplasty doesn’t have the risks of bleeding and infection seen in traditional sinus surgery. Post-operative pain is far less. Plus, this treatment doesn’t limit any future treatments or procedures. In other words, you are not burning any bridges if you wind up needing more extensive surgery in the future.
What Anesthesia Is Used?
How Long Does it Take to Recover From Balloon Sinuplasty?
Overall balloon sinuplasty does not cause much trauma to the nasal area. This makes it relatively non-invasive and have minimal recovery time. Most patients can return to work and their normal activities after one day.
Procedure Steps
Unlike traditional sinuplasty, balloon sinuplasty requires no cutting or removal of bone and tissue. The procedure is pretty simple and can usually be done in our AAAASF Certified surgery center right in our office.
Step 1
We make our patient comfortable as possible. During your pre op appointment we'll discuss sedation options from mild all the way to general anesthesia.
Step 2
Your surgeon will insert a guide catheter with an endoscope into the nostril. We use the latest technology to help guide the surgery process.
Step 3
The guide catheter reaches the sinus opening and is then advanced into the blocked sinus.
Step 4
The balloon catheter is placed onto the guide and moved up to the opening of the blocked sinus.
Step 5
The balloon is slowly inflated. As it widens, it instantly restructures the walls of the sinus. This does not harm the sinus lining in any way. This is a permanent change and results in “remodeling” of the sinuses from that point on.
Step 6
We spray saline solution through the catheter into the inflamed sinus to flush out the pus and mucus.
Step 7
Next we take cultures to identify any pathogens present including sensitivities to direct appropriate antibiotic therapy. Then we remove the catheter.