Sinus surgery includes various procedures performed by Dr. Raggio to provide relief from sinus complications. The goal is to open the pathways of your sinus cavities and clear any blockages.
If you have recurring sinus infections or difficulties with your sinuses that affect your day-to-day life, you should contact ALPRS to discuss your options and whether sinus surgery can resolve your recurring sinus pain and pressure.
What are the Different Types of Sinus Surgery?
Sinus surgery improves sinus issues, particularly chronic inflammation of the nose and sinuses. The procedure makes more space between the sinuses in order to allow air to get in while allowing drainage to get out. There are many different types of sinus surgery, and ALPRS is proud to provide the following sinus surgery options.
Septoplasty
A septoplasty is performed to correct a deviated septum, which can cause headaches, facial pain, and constant sinus infections. The septum divides your nostrils, and a septoplasty improves the septum alignment by re-positioning, trimming, or replacing the bone and cartilage.
Turbinate Reduction
Turbinates are tiny structures inside the nose that purify the air that goes into your lungs. When enlarged, they interfere with normal breathing. Turbinate reduction surgery removes a portion of the enlarged turbinates to help with overall breathing function.
Functional Nasal Surgery
Functional nose surgery corrects structural issues or anomalies that make it difficult for you to breathe. Such problems include congenital disability, acquired deformity, injury, or trauma to the nose. Functional nose surgery improves your ability to enjoy life to the fullest, free from breathing issues. Functional nose surgery can effectively help improve nasal polyps that occur due to allergic rhinitis, sinus infections, asthma, nasal obstruction, and cystic fibrosis. They develop in the nasal passages or sinuses and can cause many problems, including difficulty breathing and sinus infections.
Surgery For Nasal Valve Collapse
Nasal valve collapse can result from trauma, inflammation, weak nasal cartilage, scar tissue, complications after nasal surgery, or aging. This causes problems such as intense snoring, severe congestion, bleeding, crusty nostrils, and difficulty breathing. Improving nasal valve collapse uses spreader grafts to support the valves so that they remain open and allow for adequate breathing.
What is FESS?
Functional Endoscopic Sinus Surgery, or FESS, addresses each sinus and removes the blockages allowing each sinus to ventilate and drain through its natural opening. Doing so allows the lining of the sinuses to heal while decreasing discharge, pain, and pressure associated with blocked sinuses. The procedure can be performed under local or general anesthesia on an outpatient basis with minimal discomfort, allowing you to breathe freely once again.
Image-guided endoscopic surgery may be recommended:
- For severe forms of chronic sinusitis
- In cases when previous sinus surgery has altered your nasal structure in some way
- Where your sinus anatomy is especially unusual
Image-guidance is a mapping system that combines computed tomography (CT) scans and real-time information about the exact position of surgical instruments using infrared signals. This allows surgeons to navigate their surgical instruments through complex sinus passages and provide surgical relief more precisely, giving you better results.
How is Sinus Surgery Performed?
All sinus surgery procedures are performed through the nostrils with a thin, flexible telescopic camera. Diseased tissue, nasal polyps, or other obstructions are removed. Straightening a deviated nasal septum with septoplasty, or reducing enlarged turbinates with turbinoplasty, may improve sinus surgery results when done simultaneously.
Can sinus and breathing surgery be combined with a rhinoplasty? Yes, because the recovery periods are the same, and no additional time is needed. It is important to note that while insurance may help with sinus and breathing care and traumatic nose injuries, it will not pay for cosmetic surgery.
What is Recovery Like For Sinus Surgery?
You should be comfortable enough to go home an hour or two after the procedure; for the first few days, you may feel like you have a head cold which is normal and may resolve before the first office visit post-procedure. During this visit, the nose is cleaned, and most patients can go about non-strenuous activity. Some of the most common results following recovery from sinus surgery include improved ease of breathing and a decrease or elimination in frequency and severity of sinus infections.
Some of what to expect after sinus surgery include:
- Bloody discharge for the first 3-5 days after sinus surgery
- Some nasal and sinus pressure and pain for the first several days after surgery
- Fatigue for the first week after surgery, so most patients plan on taking at least one week off of work to recover
- Nasal congestion and discharge for the first few weeks after surgery
- Avoid straining, heavy lifting, and nose blowing for at least ten days after surgery
Why choose ALPRS for sinus surgery?
Dr. Raggio is the only fellowship-trained Facial Plastic and Reconstructive surgeon in the Montgomery, AL region and has extensive training and facial surgery experience. Dr. Cawthon is an Otolaryngologist bringing decades of experience to our practice. When you choose Alabama Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery for your sinus surgery, you choose extraordinary care and service from every touchpoint to achieve outstanding results that improve your quality of life.
Blake Raggio
Facial Plastic Surgeon
