Endoscopic sinus surgery is the solution for sinusitis, a disease suffered by many people. Patients discharged the same day following the surgical operation can return to their normal life in a few days. Moreover, the recurrence rate of the disease is almost zero.
The endoscopy system is a system equipped with a cold light source and a camera at the end. These cameras project clear images onto the screen, enabling us to observe the dark places and diseased tissues that we cannot see directly. Endoscopy is mostly performed on the sinuses around the nose in the field of ENT, which is then called endoscopic sinus surgery. This surgical procedure is almost the only method that has been used in sinusitis surgery all over the world for years.
Endoscopic sinus surgery can be easily performed under local or general anesthesia. Today, general anesthesia is much more reliable and takes shorter time than local anesthesia for these surgeries. All surgeries are performed by accessing the intended site through the nostril.
Sinus surgery takes 1 hour on average. The surgery is intended to open the diseased sinus ostiums, remove the existing inflammation or diseased tissue from the site, and provide simultaneous ventilation of the sinuses and the nose.
Preoperative Process
It causes no postoperative swelling or bruising. The patient can be discharged the same day after surgery, and can return to work within 2-3 days if he/she wants. In recent years, the patient’s comfort after surgery has been increased with the use of self-dissolving tampons which do not need to be removed.
After a surgical operation, it is quite natural to observe nasal congestion and scab formation for a certain period of time as well as light pink discharge that may be obvious in the first postoperative days. The patient is given drops and sprays that will take 3 to 4 weeks to finish, they are controlled with medical examinations once or twice a month, and intranasal cleaning and dressing are made in patients found suitable for such procedures. Full recovery may take 3-4 weeks after surgery.
The only thing to do in this period is to use intranasal sprays and washes. Some instruments used during the surgery can make the operation shorter and more reliable. When necessary, this surgical procedure can be performed more quickly and especially more reliably by using devices such as microdebrider and navigator.
Endoscopic sinus surgery can be performed in conjunction with septoplasty (intended to correct nasal bone curvature ), nasal concha reduction (radiofrequency application to the concha) and rhinoplasty (aesthetic nose surgery).
It Has a Quite High Success Rate
When performed by skilled hands, endoscopic sinus surgery has a high success rate and a very low recurrence risk. Although the success rate of endoscopic sinus surgery ranges from 70 to 90%, good postoperative follow-up controls and detection and treatment of all disorders caused by allergic rhinitis make the recurrence rate of chronic sinusitis almost zero.
For this reason, if the patient has any complaints, an allergy test should definitely be performed and treatment should be started accordingly. Patients are followed at certain intervals and their recurrences rates are kept at a minimum level.
Other usage areas besides chronic sinusitis:
-Treatment of nasal polyps
-Concha reduction
-Treatment of nose neoplasms and sinus tumors
-Unblocking tear ducts
-Treatment of bleeding optic nerve and their relieving them from pressure
-Treatment of congenital postnasal congestion (choanal atresia)
-Controlling nose-bleeding
-Treatment of skull base tumors
-Unblocking the eustachian tube