Functional endoscopic sinus surgery(FESS)

[heapsreal]

Anyone had fess surgery for sinusitis?

basically an endoscope with a deflated balloon on it that they place into the sinus and inflate the balloon to help widen the sinuses and allow them to drain properly. It appears that it is a day procedure with quick recovery time especially compared to older styles of sinus surgery.

Not sure if its covered under the health system here in oz, if not and its only available through private health cover then its going to probably be out of my price range.

Like to hear from people who have had it done, how helpful and did the effects last a long time etc?

cheers!!

 

[ukxmrv]

I was going to have this done. The NHS in London would have done this operation but my sinuses were so much better with the irrigator that in the end I canceled it. Not sure if i made the right decision though as it beens years of irrigating my sinuses and when I get a cold it doesn't work and I get an infection anyway.

Have you had a scan to see what is happening there?

 

[heapsreal]

organise a ct scan in my next doc appointment hopefully. the fess procedure seems low risk etc.
its one of those things with us where we dont really know if its a anatomical issue with poor drainage or just a crap immune system that allows these bugs to keep living and multiplying in our sinuses?? FESS procedure i guess isnt going to be a long term solution if its due to poor immune function, maybe make it easier to clear infections when they happen i guess.

 

[Sasha]

heaps, I had an immediate (same day) and sustained improvement in my sinusitis when I removed gluten from my diet a few weeks ago. It hasn't completely gone - it has maybe stablised, but at a better level - but for the first time in years, I can lie on my side at night, and breathe through my nose.

I don't, as far as I'm aware, have an infection but I'm wondering if maybe that kind of intervention might reduce inflammation enough to make a difference for you.

Just a thought - it maybe doesn't apply.

 

[PNR2008]

Heaps, If you get this procedure done and it's successful, I'll be right behind you. My problem is a deviated septum so maybe this particular surgery isn't for me but I always have sinus problems and infections usually start there. I'm so tired of feeling rotten on a regular basis that any improvement might give me hope until a real treatment is found. Take care and keep us informed.

 

[merylg]

My "gut' feeling is that it is all driven by defects relating to collagen (eg Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome, Loeys-Dietz Syndrome) & other genetic susceptibilities to diseases, including ?Human Endogenous Retroviruses.

I'll be interested in how that new procedure goes.

 

[MeSci]

heaps, I had an immediate (same day) and sustained improvement in my sinusitis when I removed gluten from my diet a few weeks ago. It hasn't completely gone - it has maybe stablised, but at a better level - but for the first time in years, I can lie on my side at night, and breathe through my nose.

I don't, as far as I'm aware, have an infection but I'm wondering if maybe that kind of intervention might reduce inflammation enough to make a difference for you.

Just a thought - it maybe doesn't apply.

I too have had a huge improvement in my sinuses, namely reduction of nasal congestion, through dietary change, which was to remove gluten, then also buckwheat and oats as they seemed to be a problem (not sure) and reducing grains and sugar significantly. For years I had had to avoid sleeping on my back due to post-nasal drip waking me up choking, and had to sleep with 4 pillows to try to keep my sinuses clear, wear a mask containing a handkerchief liberally sprinkled with Olbas oil, etc. I had ended up choking on post-nasal drip many evenings, and getting serious wheezing as well as exhaustion from coughing. Not any more.

Surgery of any kind is a rather drastic option IMO.

 

[Sasha]

I'm considering going dairy-free now to see if it gets rid of the rest of it!

 

[MeSci]

I'm considering going dairy-free now to see if it gets rid of the rest of it!

Good luck. I'm long-term vegan so don't know whether dairy was ever a problem for me. Milk avoidance is part of the leaky-gut diet recommendations though, as you probably know.

 

[Nielk]

Anyone had fess surgery for sinusitis?

basically an endoscope with a deflated balloon on it that they place into the sinus and inflate the balloon to help widen the sinuses and allow them to drain properly. It appears that it is a day procedure with quick recovery time especially compared to older styles of sinus surgery.

Not sure if its covered under the health system here in oz, if not and its only available through private health cover then its going to probably be out of my price range.

Like to hear from people who have had it done, how helpful and did the effects last a long time etc?

cheers!!

Heaps,

I had two separate sinus surgeries done at different times. 30 years ago I had sinus surgery to fix a deviated septum. It was partially successful. I subsequently had fewer sinus infections but, still had a lot of sinus issues so 7 years ago I had sinus surgery again to open up my maxillary sinus cavities. The surgeon at the time said that this cannot be done endoscopically. I had high hopes before the surgery because I had heard from others how this surgery made such a major difference for them. I am sad to say that for me it did nothing. I believe now that this is because my main problem is allergies and as soon as my allergies started attacking me again, the problem returned.

As an aside, if one is going to go for this surgery, I would definitely try to do it with an endoscope since the regular surgery has a major recuperation (painful) period.

 

[rebar]

I had endoscopic sinus surgery about 6 years ago and it was the single most helpful procedure i've ever done.
I had ongoing infections with the accompanying need for antibiotics. Often today the surgery is little more than taking out the obstructive tissue, and not the horrible invasive and destructive surgery it was in the now distant past. It's not for everyone, but for some it really is successful, and I've not needed antibiotics since.

 

[Sushi]

I had endoscopic sinus surgery about 6 years ago and it was the single most helpful procedure i've ever done.
I had ongoing infections with the accompanying need for antibiotics. Often today the surgery is little more than taking out the obstructive tissue, and not the horrible invasive and destructive surgery it was in the now distant past. It's not for everyone, but for some it really is successful, and I've not needed antibiotics since.

I have considered this too. Do you remember which sinus they opened up with the balloon? I've read that this can only be used for certain sinuses.

Thanks,
Sushi

 

[rebar]

no, no I had the actual surgery, removal of tissue, and it was on each side

 

[Sushi]

no, no I had the actual surgery, removal of tissue, and it was on each side

Like Heaps, I am thinking more of the balloon procedure.
Thanks,
Sushi

 

[BFG]

I also developed what i think were sinus pains behind my nose and maxilla after starting some chinese herbs. The symptoms scared me, it felt like there was a bubble behind my face ready to pop and terrible sharp pains in my head so I stopped the herbs and the pains went away after a week. Maybe it was a herx?

I don't know anything about the FESS procedure, but I did find a study on a patient who consistently hummed for four days which steadily eliminated his sinusitis symptoms and surprisingly decreased his heart arrhythmias by stimulating nitric oxide in his nose.
http://george-eby-research.com/html/chronic-rhinosinusitis.pdf