Balloon Sinuplasty

What is Balloon Sinuplasty?

Balloon Sinuplasty is a service offered through our Allergy and Sinus Center by our highly-trained sinus surgeons.

Sufferers of sinusitis (chronic sinus inflammation) can breathe easier with one of the most advanced and least invasive sinus relief procedures available today, balloon sinuplasty. This innovative sinus surgery may be able to give you the permanent relief from the chronic congestion, pain and pressure of sinusitis – and it’s covered by most insurances, including Medicare. In fact, many patients report same-day relief!

Balloon sinuplasty is one of the newest, least invasive alternatives to traditional sinus surgery to open blocked sinus passageways and restore normal sinus drainage. The FDA-approved procedure utilizes a small, flexible balloon to open and restructure nasal passageways which may alleviate sinus headaches, fatigue and congestion. The balloon catheter is gently inserted into the problem region and inflated, restricting and widening the walls of the sinus passageway.

Balloon Sinuplasty vs Traditional Surgery

Balloon sinuplasty is a less invasive option for patients who have not found relief from prescribed antibiotics – a situation that an estimated 20% of sinusitis sufferers find themselves in – and can be performed under local anesthetic with a speedy recovery.

Advantages of balloon sinuplasty over traditional sinus surgery include:

• Less discomfort
• A faster recovery time
• No removal of bone or tissue
• Minimal bleeding

What Are the Long-Term Results of Balloon Sinuplasty?

Over 150,000 patients have had their chronic sinusitis treated safely with the procedure, and over 95% of patients have demonstrated an improvement in sinus symptoms.

Researchers look at what we call the patency rate, looking at whether or not the sinuses are still open when a surgeon looks into your nose with a special scope. At two-year follow-up, about 90% of sinus openings were still clear.

As part of the data, balloon sinuplasty patients also filled out sino-nasal outcome test (SNOT) questionnaires. Over the same two-year period, the scores of all the patients who filled out the questionnaire, 85% had recorded sustained improvement in their sinus symptoms.