You’ve heard of balloons being used to open up blocked arteries. Now, there’s a new sinus procedure that uses a similar technique to help patients breathe easier.
When 47-year-old Katie Garrison started having a chronic cough and a raspy voice, she turned to sinus specialist Dr. James Atkins for help. What he found on a scan surprised her. Katie had chronically infected sinuses. “I had a sinus infection for a long time,” she said. “We don’t have any idea when it started and I didn’t really have any other symptoms.”
A tiny balloon was the answer to Garrison’s problem. It’s a device used to dilate the sinus passages.
“Instead of taking tissue out of the nose, we use a balloon inside the sinuses to dilate the tissue and keep the passages open that way so that the sinuses drain better,” Atkins explained.
First, the doctor gains access to the affected sinus through a small entry point under the upper lip. The small balloon, about half the width of a pencil, is advanced into position. Then, it’s inflated to gently break up the blockage. The balloon is deflated and the device is removed.
The doctor uses a scope and has direct visualization of what he’s doing. The entire procedure takes less than half an hour.
Atkins has performed about 150 of these procedures. Most patients find good relief of sinus pressure and pain within three or four weeks, and they can go back to their daily routine quickly.
“People take it for granted,” he said. “They think they have to live with it. But you don’t have to live with it. There are things that can be done to improve your life.”
After her procedure in August, Garrison’s had great results. Statistics show balloon sinuplasty is successful more than 95% of the time.
“I will wake up or take a deep breath sometimes and think ‘I can feel air on both sides.’ And I don’t realize how long I didn’t feel that,” she stated.
Atkins can usually perform the procedure under local anesthesia in the office. If it’s combined with other therapies, he sometimes uses an operating room at Foundation Surgical Hospital in San Antonio.
On Tuesday, January 26, 2010, at 6:30 p.m., Atkins is hosting a seminar about the procedure. It’s being held at the Foundation Surgical Hospital Healthplex at 9502 Huebner Road, Suite 301. You can RSVP for the seminar by calling (210) 478-5400 or log onto www.fshsanantonio.com for more information.
