How Westside Surgical Hospital helps patients with chronic sinusitis
Roughly one in six Americans suffers from chronic rhinosinusitis (CRS), an inflammation of the nasal sinuses that lasts more than 12 weeks. A sinus infection is characterized by:
- Nasal congestion
- Drainage
- Facial pressure
- Decreased sense of smell
If you suffer from chronic sinus infections, you may also have difficulty sleeping and decreased energy levels. Chronic sinus problems can affect your quality of life, and even lead to depression.
“CRS may not be a single disorder with a single cause,” says rhinologist Dr. Samer Fakhri. “Different people may have similar symptoms, but what is causing the disease could be different. Either way, prevention and treatment can lessen the likelihood of suffering.”
For severe sufferers, the first step is getting diagnosed. A physician will use a scope or imaging technology to confirm inflammations in the nasal passages. Swelling and symptoms must both be present to diagnose CRS.
TREATMENT OCCURS IN THREE PHASES:
- Medical therapy: The inflammation is treated with antibiotics, mucus thinners, decongestants, and/or nasal stereoid spray.
- Polyp treatment: If medication doesn’t work, a doctor will directly address the nasal polyps, the abnormal growths of tissue on the musous membrane in the nose. Steroids can be used in conjunction with antibiotics. If that works, patiens are often advised to start maintenance therapy, which can include allergy shots, pills, supplements or nasal spray.
- Surgery: If therapeutic treatment doesn’t work, a doctor may prescribe minimally invasive endoscopic sinus surgery. The doctor opens the nasal passages in the sinuses, enhancing drainage pathways and removing diseased tissue. This also allows the doctor to deliver topical medication right on the lining of the sinuses to decrease inflammation.
Ingesting steroids can have potential side effects, so this approach is beneficial because it offers direct delivery of the medication where it’s needed, and it doesn’t get into the bloodstream. There are even some steroids that doctors can put into the open sinus cavity that will release over three days without any of it getting into the bloodstream.
“We’re using technology to add precision and safety to every procedure,” says Dr. Fakhri. “These advanced techniques allow us to provide very directed personal care and topical therapy, which have a positive impact on the health of sinuses and our patients’ quality of life.”
WHY DO SOME PEOPLE HAVE SINUS PROBLEMS AND OTHERS DON’T?
It depends on the way the body reacts to fungus. Everyone has fungus in the nose, but people who have CRS have a reaction in which their immune systems trigger an exaggerated response. People who don’t have CRS have the same fungus in their noses, but the body doesn’t react to it.