Balloon Sinuplasty is a minimally invasive in-office option to address patients with recurrent or chronic sinus infections as well as severe sinus headaches on a regular basis. Sinusitis is an incredibly common condition affecting millions of people each year. Sinusitis, which is caused by inflammation of the paranasal sinuses, and may result from allergies, autoimmune disorders, or by infection commonly results in headaches, facial and sinus pain, eye discomfort, ear congestion/infection, and even tooth pain. Dr. Heineman is pleased to be able to offer patients suffering from recurrent or chronic sinusitis, a minimally invasive in-office solution under local anesthesia in less than 30 minutes, called balloon sinuplasty, which is performed in our Cedar Rapids office. How Balloon Sinuplasty Works? When our sinus specialists perform in-office balloon sinuplasty, their goals are to help patients suffering from sinus related pain to feel relief quickly and with minimal disruption to their life. In order to do so, balloon sinuplasty is used to expand sinus pathways by reshaping the anatomy and thereby restoring proper drainage capabilities. When patients undergo in-office balloon sinuplasty, Dr. Heineman will place tiny balloons throughout the nose and sinuses. The balloons are then inflated to help permanently expand the sinus pathways and then immediately removed. By enlarging the sinus pathways, the likelihood of recurring infection is significantly reduced. In-office balloon sinuplasty does not require general anesthesia as it is done under simple topical/local anesthesia, and there is virtually no recovery time following the procedure. Patients are amazed at how simple and quick it is without any nasal packing and they’re usually back to work the next day. Cedar Rapids area patients who are particularly good candidates for in-office balloon sinuplasty are those whose sinus pain and infections do not resolve properly with medication and often get more than 2 infections per year. Most patients do this procedure in conjunction with the in-office turbinate reduction to not only prevent recurrent sinus infections and sinus headaches but also to address their daily issues with nasal congestion/obstruction and thick postnasal drip. Patients often report the following after In-Office Balloon Sinuplasty: *Instant relief from sinus pain and pressure *Significant reduction in the number of sinus infections throughout the year *Significant reduction in lost days from work due to sinus issues * Significantly improved sleep and less snoring *Significant reduced postnasal drip as well as activation of cough and asthma issues *Reduction in medical bills by diminishing need for future prescriptions and office visits *Minimal disruption to daily activities *Lasting and ongoing relief from sinusitis To find out if you’re a candidate for in-office balloon sinuplasty, contact our clinic for an appointment. The only side effects patients rarely report is minimal droplets of blood for a few hours after the procedure and mild congestion for a few days. However, the long-lasting benefits from this procedure significantly outweigh these issues. Nonetheless, certain patients with rather severe deviated septums or very advanced sinus disease due to polyps, tumors or severe infections are not candidates for this in-office procedure and have to be done in the surgical center as an outpatient via minimally invasive image-guided functional endoscopic sinus surgery.
