Sinus Surgery Richmond VA | Balloon Sinuplasty Richmond Virginia

Have you heard horror stories about sinus surgery? It might not be that difficult.

Richmond ENT has literally “written the book” chapter on office-based maxillary sinus surgery¹ and remains a leader in the development of minimally invasive surgical treatments for sinusitis². With balloon dilation of the sinuses, a thin plastic catheter (similar to an angioplasty catheter for the heart) is inserted through the opening of the sinus and briefly inflated. When the sinus balloon is inflated, it gently restructures and widens the walls of the passageway while maintaining the integrity of the sinus lining. When the balloon is removed, the displaced tissue generally stays in position, or it may be removed with delicate endoscopic forceps.

Balloon Sinuplasty™ was the first endoscopic, catheter-based system to dilate the sinus openings in patients suffering from sinusitis. It is especially useful in patients with obstruction of the frontal and sphenoid sinuses, but can also be used for maxillary sinus disease. Typically performed in the operating room with fluoroscopic (X-ray) guidance, a small flexible wire is gently inserted into the natural opening of the sinus, and the balloon is passed over the wire, inflated and removed.

While Balloon Sinuplasty has revolutionized the way surgeons think about the frontal and sphenoid sinuses, the most common area for painful sinusitis is the maxillary, or cheek sinus. The development of smaller endoscopes allows us now to enter the maxillary sinus through a needle placed under the lip. With direct vision into the maxillary sinus cavity, we can now pass the balloon through the sinus opening without working around or between convoluted or narrow nasal passageways. Most of our patients with isolated maxillary sinusitis undergo surgery in the office and resume normal activity the next day.

The latest tool in our office is the XprESS balloon. By placing the balloon on a thin, bendable suction probe, the engineers have developed a one-piece tool that greatly simplifies the surgical technique for dilating the frontal and sphenoid sinuses. Currently, the XprESS balloon is used in our office primarily for revision frontal sinus surgery.

Research Subjects Needed

Richmond ENT is designated research site for two national clinical trials evaluating outcomes following balloon dilation of the sinuses. One of these studies, restricted to patients with isolated maxillary sinus disease, will pay for the cost of your surgery. Call now to see if you may qualify.

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¹Armstrong, M. Office-based Procedures in Rhinosinusitis. Otolaryngol Clin N Am 38:1327-1338, 2005.

²Albritton FD et al. Surgeon radiation exposure in ESS with balloon catheters. Otolaryngol Head Neck Surg 140:834-840, 2009.

Sinuplasty™ is a registered trademark of AcclarENT, Inc.
FinESS™ and XprESS™ are registered trademarks of Entellus Medical.
Dr. Armstrong has served as a speaker, consultant and/or trainer for both AcclarENT and Entellus Medical.