FAQs page 5
 Has the surgery for sinus disease improved?
Most of us know someone who has had surgery for a sinus condition. Traditional surgery has been directed toward the symptoms of the disease and not the CAUSE of the disease. The result has been a highly invasive procedure with the risk of loss of valuable nasal and sinus tissue. Troublesome bleeding, increased patient discomfort, prolonged healing. More scarring and an increased risk of additional surgery have characterized this approach for decades.
Fortunately, the current understanding of sinus function, coupled with the new instrumentation and techniques, are producing more effective surgery with less pain for the patient.
Physiological pathways of mucous flow are found and restored with as little loss of mucous membrane as possible. The result is a MINIMALLY INVASIVE procedure which is both precise and less traumatic. Quicker patient healing and a higher level of surgical success are hallmarks of this approach.
 Should people who have had prior unsuccessful surgery consider the
new approach?
Although some patients may have benefited from traditional surgery, many did not - primarily
because these techniques were destructive in nature and did not effectively address sinus function.
Today's powered instrumentation and more accurate diagnostic tehcniques allow us to target the surgery to the specific areas that need attention. Hundreds of patients who were unhappy with the results of traditional surgery have found positive results with the new techniques.
 How successful is this surgery?
Follow-up studies of patients indicate that more than 90% of surgical patients show improvement. However, it is important to understand that sinus surgery is not curative surgery.
Unlike an appendectmoy, in which the cause of the disease itself is physically removed, the goal of sinus surgery is to restore normal function of the sinuses and thus enhance recovery.
Clinic patients may require a secondary minor revision surgery less than 7% of the time. The expected improvement is realized in the vast majority of such cases.
 What about post-operative care?
Sinus surgery is typically same-day surgery requiring no overnight stay. There will be no uncomfortable nasal packs, and post-operative care is often limited to nasal irrigations and a topical nasal spray.
The first post-operative visit is at ten to fourteen days. Remaining visits are about every two weeks until complete healing has occurred and the expectation of long-term improvement is expected.
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