General:
Sinusitis is the inflammation of the sinus cavities in the skull. Some feel these cavities are meant to lighten the weight of the skull. Infection may be viral or bacterial, acute or chronic.
Sinusitis:
Allergic rhinitis may begin this process of swelling and ultimate sinus obstruction with resultant infection.
Acute sinusitis may accompany a virus, or URI. It is diagnosed and treated when perhaps a URI turns bad after a week and a sudden pain occurs in the cheek or eye region, indicating sudden complete blockage.
Chronic sinusitis results after persistent obstruction due to URI, allergic rhinitis or nasal polyps. It is called "chronic" after 3 months duration and needs to be treated differently.
Treatment:
Generally, we treat with nasal inhaled steroids such as Flonase, but if it persists and/or escalates we may recommend a surgical endoscopic sinus procedure (FESS) to drain the cavities. This is an outpatient procedure performed at a local surgery center.
Surgery:
With FESS, we use a routine limited CT scan for guidance, and with some may use a GPS-type system called InstaTrak or BrainLab.
Microdebrieding techniques and Sinus Balloons are used to dilate the sinus openings depending on your problem.
