DANVILLE — Only 2,400 surgeons across the nation are trained to treat sinusitis with balloons. But they’re not throwing any parties.
Brendan Kluszynski with the E.N.T. Group at Hendricks Regional Health is an ear, nose, and throat physician. He said balloon sinuplasty, a fairly new treatment to treat sinusitis, was approved by the FDA in 2004 and approved for pediatrics patients in March of 2008.
“There are over a dozen practices that use it in Indiana,” Kluszynski said. “We trained for it in late 2007.”
The group was established over 20 years ago and are based in Danville. The physicians of the group are general otolarygologists, and the most common surgical procedures performed include tonsillectomy, placement of ear tubes, surgeries for snoring and sleep apnea, sinus surgery, and surgeries involving the thyroid and salivary glands. The group also ffers full hearing services including hearing testing and hearing aid sales and services.
The doctors of the E.N.T. Group are among a select number of physicians in the Indianapolis area performing the sinuplasty procedure to treat sinusitus.
Sinusitis is an inflammation of the sinus lining that is normally caused by bacterial, viral, or microbial infections. It can also include structural issues such as the blockage of the sinus opening. If proper draining can’t take place, an infection can incur. Symptoms include facial pain and pressure, nasal blockage, discharge of mucus from the nose, loss of sense of smell, headache, and fatigue.
The traditional treatment for sinusitis involves endoscopic sinus surgeries removing tissue that is blocking or preventing adequate drainage of the sinuses. Patients recovering may require nasal packing , experience nasal drainage or minor bleeding, and may require narcotic pain medication.
The benefit to the balloon sinuplasty, says E.N.T. physician Scott Curry, is that it involves less pain, less and sometimes no packing, and there is a faster recovery time.
“The process takes anywhere from five to 30 minutes,” Curry said.
Kluszynski likens the technique to angioplasty, and notes that not all sinuses can be done with this particular balloon technique.
“There are four sets of sinuses,” Kluszynski said. “Three of the four can be managed.”
The balloons are about five to seven millimeters wide and 12 to 24 millimeters long. A sinus guide catheter and a flexible guidewire are inserted through the nostrils to access the infected sinus. The catheter is positioned across the blocked sinus and inflated. The sinuplasty system is then removed, leaving an open sinus passageway and restoring normal drainage within the sinus. In most cases, no packing is required and postoperative recovery is faster when compared to traditional techniques.
“We’ve had some very positive feedback,” Curry said. “Healing only takes a couple weeks and recovery is a lot faster.”
Both physicians stress, however, that this procedure is not for everyone.
“People need their primary care doctor to give them a good evaluation,” Kluszynski said. “All that is nasal is not necessarily sinus-related. Sinusitis sometimes requires intervention, but only after failed medical therapy.”
The E.N.T. Group is located at Hendricks Regional Health and all patients are cared for locally. To schedule an appointment, call 745-3758.
jamie.hergott@flyergroup.com
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Sinus doctors use balloon technique
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