ENT SURGERY

The following procedures are ENT surgeries offered at ENT Partners of Texas.

Balloon Sinuplasty is the latest in sinus treatment technology. Since most sinus disease is caused by obstruction of the tiny sinus drainage openings, this procedure was developed to enlarge these openings without surgery and thereby improving sinus drainage. It involves inserting a tiny catheter with a balloon on the end into the sinus opening and then inflating the balloon to dilate the opening. It is done using local and topical anesthesia and in some cases can be done in the office.

Over the years, many different techniques have been developed to remove enlarged or chronically infected tonsils and adenoids. One of the latest techniques is called coblation. Coblation uses heat to remove tonsil tissue without causing significant damage to surrounding tissue. This allows the surgery to be done quicker and with very little bleeding. Patients tend to have less postoperative pain and heal faster. No matter which technique is employed, tonsil and adenoid surgery can usually be done as an outpatient.

With the improvement of endoscopes, light sources, TV technology and computerized guidance systems that occurred through the 80s into our current century, came the development of endoscopic sinus surgery. This minimally invasive surgery is performed under general anesthesia as an outpatient. Whereas in the past, sinus surgery required making either an external incision on the face or one in the mouth, endoscopic sinus surgery is completely done through the nose with minimal disruption of any other facial tissue. Using the latest in television technology and computerized guidance systems, the sinus surgeon can look directly into the sinus areas and perform delicate surgery without disturbing any of the surrounding structures.

This surgery is reserved for those patients who fail medical management of their sinus disease or who have been found to have nasal polyps or tumors of the nasal cavities and sinuses. Because it is minimally invasive, patients heal faster and recover quickly.

Obstruction to nasal breathing can be caused by a number of conditions. One of these conditions is due to hypertrophy (enlargement) of the inferior turbinates within the nasal cavity. The turbinates are boney structures inside the nose that are covered with a mucus membrane. They are responsible for moisturizing the air we breathe by increasing the surface area within the nasal cavities.

Occasionally, the turbinates enlarge and remain enlarged. When this happens, it becomes difficult to breathe properly through the nose. Diagnosis is made by examination and a history of non-responsive treatment with nasal sprays.

Reduction of the inferior turbinates is a common procedure and in many cases can be done in the office using cautery or radio frequency surgery. In more difficult cases, turbinate reduction is done as a surgical procedure either under local anesthesia with sedation or general anesthesia and is frequently done in conjunction with surgery to correct a deviated septum.