Most people who have been diagnosed with sinusitis are put on home remedies and conservative treatments to help manage their symptoms. However, is these treatments don’t ease their symptoms in three months, the condition will be considered chronic sinusitis that only ENT doctors can treat.

ENT doctors specialize in issues that involve the ears, throat, and nose. If your symptoms are so severe that they are negatively affecting your quality of life, your ENT doctor here at Everyone's ENT & Sinus Center in San Antonio, TX, Dr. Christine Gilliam, might recommend sinus surgery.

Before Turning to Sinus Surgery

People who don’t respond well to medical treatments for sinus surgery don’t necessarily need to undergo sinus surgery. However, those whose CT scans show clear signs of persistent disease are usually ideal candidates for the procedure. Prior to turning to sinus surgery, your ENT doctor will first put you on maximum medical therapy, which may entail an extended course of steroid medications, antibiotics, and sinus irrigations.

If these medical treatments fail to work, your ENT doctor will recommend a CT scan. In the event that your scans show signs of chronic sinus disease or a sinus obstruction that only surgery could relieve, then your ENT doctor in San Antonio, TX, may suggest sinus surgery.

Common Reasons to Get Sinus Surgery

• Obvious symptoms of persistent sinusitis even after undergoing aggressive medical therapy
• Presence of sinus or nasal polyps
• Sinusitis due to a fungal infection
• Sinusitis that has spread to nearby bone
• Structural irregularities of the sinuses or nose
• Chronic sinus infections with HIV
• Sinus cancer

Sinus Surgery Types

Surgical procedures used for treating chronic sinusitis include functional endoscopic surgery, balloon sinuplasty, and open sinus surgery. The most commonly recommend sinus surgery is endoscopic sinus surgery. On the other hand, rare sinus tumors or certain kinds of aggressive fungal sinus infections respond better to external or traditional surgical procedures that involve incisions over the eyebrows or the gum line.

Your ENT doctor will be the one to decide which surgical approach will work best for your specific circumstances. To help ensure the best possible outcomes, you will need to work closely with your ENT doctor before and after the sinus surgery.

For More Details on Sinus Surgery, Give Us a Call

Contact Everyone's ENT & Sinus Center in San Antonio, TX, by calling (210) 647-3838 to arrange your appointment with Dr. Christine Gilliam.