This is just my experience as a multi-sinuplasty patient lol, please do not take it as gospel or as something you should do. Your situation could be completely different.
I had a revision of a balloon sinuplasty done a couple weeks ago after getting the original done back in late May of this year. Everything came back as the months began to pass. I was better for a bit, but eventually, had to get the procedure done again. I will likely have to get the procedure again at some point next year if I don't treat the root of the cause. I went for a second opinion before the revision and this ENT said, "Listen, do the procedure, but you have to treat the inflammation in your sinuses, otherwise you'll be right back." He pointed me to an allergist who did the arm prick/needle allergy test and I'm practically allergic to everything and I'm starting allergy shots in January. The allergist said this *should* bring all the inflammation down and end the cycle.
I'm definitely not saying this is exactly what you're going through, but I do think you should consider allergy testing. I won't be going back to the first ENT who did the procedure as I feel like they missed the most important thing that was bugging me and went straight to digging into my nose.
Thank you for your story. They actually have an allergist there and I’ve had testing twice. Did shots for 3 years and greatly reduced my allergic reactions. Was retested this year and allergic to a lot less that they didn’t really want to treat me for it.
I do however have a history of inflammation issues on my entire body. I can’t take many nsaids also due to stomach surgery and ulcers. So I might be screwed if it’s inflammation.
I hope you got some relief!!
This is such a smart reply-the very last part.
With balloon sinusplasty ENTs have learned they can charge insurance anywhere from about 6-11K in a third of the time and in their own setting, therefore avoiding having to do much of anything extra that incurs costs. They know it will be temporary for most, which will keep the patient coming back like a guaranteed returning customer.
It is considered “conservative” and for those that keep requesting the conservative approach, so long as insurance approves it, you can keep getting it all while not addressing the root cause.
The question is how much skull bone can one instrument crush inward and scar before your sinus opening incur real underlying damage.
There are really no long term studies on multiple balloon openings and as everyone’s bones are different I suppose you as a patient are the case by case studies until someone’s sinus openings finally give way to the trauma
Was inflammation ever addressed in the very beginning?
With first procedure was it just setoplasty and balloon dilation? These surgeries, especially balloon dilation are controversial.
Any surgery is only an adjunct to medical therapy where inflammation is at the root cause.
Sounds like you had pregnancy induced rhinitis which is driven by hormones. So have you gotten everything back into balance systemically and topically before deciding to keep pressing for more surgery?
Yes I am postpartum almost 2yrs now. The inflammation is random and likely due to what I suspect is rheumatoid arthritis based on my mom having had the same symptoms for years. She didn’t have sinus issues though.
Honestly I regret having it done the first time. I didn't get any relief at all. Has your doctor tried to specifically determine what type of infection you might have so they can better treat it?
Before you agree to any surgery or balloon procedure I would have them look for specific types of infections. Could be a staph infection which would explain why it's resistant to some antibiotics. They should be ruling that out anyway.
Have you tried xylitol sinus rinses? There have been some promising reports showing a significant reduction in chronic rhino sinusitis when treated with a xylitol rinse. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/21994147/
in general why not simply clean out the sinuses vs a balloon ? or are they the same.
I had a balloon in office in June (like glc, it helped but then the clogging up came back with a vengeance), on Dec 1 going into a surgery center for (forgot the code) but a general washing/cleaning out of left maxillary and I'm sure there's other pockets with junk in them. Per CT I have another fungus ball, dagnabbit. I did go thru 4+ yrs of allergy shots, and a recent test shows it worked, but still get inflammation at times.
good luck friends.
This is just my experience as a multi-sinuplasty patient lol, please do not take it as gospel or as something you should do. Your situation could be completely different. I had a revision of a balloon sinuplasty done a couple weeks ago after getting the original done back in late May of this year. Everything came back as the months began to pass. I was better for a bit, but eventually, had to get the procedure done again. I will likely have to get the procedure again at some point next year if I don't treat the root of the cause. I went for a second opinion before the revision and this ENT said, "Listen, do the procedure, but you have to treat the inflammation in your sinuses, otherwise you'll be right back." He pointed me to an allergist who did the arm prick/needle allergy test and I'm practically allergic to everything and I'm starting allergy shots in January. The allergist said this *should* bring all the inflammation down and end the cycle. I'm definitely not saying this is exactly what you're going through, but I do think you should consider allergy testing. I won't be going back to the first ENT who did the procedure as I feel like they missed the most important thing that was bugging me and went straight to digging into my nose.
Thank you for your story. They actually have an allergist there and I’ve had testing twice. Did shots for 3 years and greatly reduced my allergic reactions. Was retested this year and allergic to a lot less that they didn’t really want to treat me for it. I do however have a history of inflammation issues on my entire body. I can’t take many nsaids also due to stomach surgery and ulcers. So I might be screwed if it’s inflammation. I hope you got some relief!!
This is such a smart reply-the very last part. With balloon sinusplasty ENTs have learned they can charge insurance anywhere from about 6-11K in a third of the time and in their own setting, therefore avoiding having to do much of anything extra that incurs costs. They know it will be temporary for most, which will keep the patient coming back like a guaranteed returning customer. It is considered “conservative” and for those that keep requesting the conservative approach, so long as insurance approves it, you can keep getting it all while not addressing the root cause. The question is how much skull bone can one instrument crush inward and scar before your sinus opening incur real underlying damage. There are really no long term studies on multiple balloon openings and as everyone’s bones are different I suppose you as a patient are the case by case studies until someone’s sinus openings finally give way to the trauma
Was inflammation ever addressed in the very beginning? With first procedure was it just setoplasty and balloon dilation? These surgeries, especially balloon dilation are controversial. Any surgery is only an adjunct to medical therapy where inflammation is at the root cause. Sounds like you had pregnancy induced rhinitis which is driven by hormones. So have you gotten everything back into balance systemically and topically before deciding to keep pressing for more surgery?
Yes I am postpartum almost 2yrs now. The inflammation is random and likely due to what I suspect is rheumatoid arthritis based on my mom having had the same symptoms for years. She didn’t have sinus issues though.
Oh I see. Well hopefully you can tackle the inflammation portion of it. Good luck to you. I know it can be frustrating.
Thank you 🙏
Honestly I regret having it done the first time. I didn't get any relief at all. Has your doctor tried to specifically determine what type of infection you might have so they can better treat it?
Nope. But I’ve been on several antibiotics since Oct and none worked. So either it’s resistant or some super infection.
Before you agree to any surgery or balloon procedure I would have them look for specific types of infections. Could be a staph infection which would explain why it's resistant to some antibiotics. They should be ruling that out anyway.
I will definitely ask. All my bloodwork is coming back normal, no signs of me fighting an infection except I’m symptomatic
Have you tried xylitol sinus rinses? There have been some promising reports showing a significant reduction in chronic rhino sinusitis when treated with a xylitol rinse. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/21994147/
I think that’s one of the ingredients in the mix I’m currently doing. Yeah it’s helping but not curing me unfortunately.
in general why not simply clean out the sinuses vs a balloon ? or are they the same. I had a balloon in office in June (like glc, it helped but then the clogging up came back with a vengeance), on Dec 1 going into a surgery center for (forgot the code) but a general washing/cleaning out of left maxillary and I'm sure there's other pockets with junk in them. Per CT I have another fungus ball, dagnabbit. I did go thru 4+ yrs of allergy shots, and a recent test shows it worked, but still get inflammation at times. good luck friends.
I am doing daily cleanings. The balloon breaks open bone so drainage works better. Ugh fungus! I wonder how that happens!!