30 Aug Sinus Stents: What You Need to Know
Sinus Stents: What You Need to Know
If you’re considering sinus surgery, your physician may also recommend a sinus stent implant.
Sinus surgery is one of the most effective treatments for chronic sinusitis. Today’s procedures are minimally invasive, utilizing cutting-edge technology and innovative medical devices that can help deliver long-term relief.
Chronic sinusitis is a condition that refers to frequent or prolonged (lasting more than 3 months) swelling or inflammation of the sinuses and nasal cavity. Symptoms have the ability to significantly impact your quality of life and can include nasal congestion and blockage, facial pain, headaches, fatigue, and more.
Sinus surgery treats chronic sinusitis by removing diseased or abnormal tissue to help open up the sinus passageways and prevent infections.
Sinus stents are typically used in conjunction with sinus surgery to enhance the benefits of the procedure and achieve greater results.
Here’s what you need to know about sinus stents:
The What
A sinus stent is a device that can be implanted in the sinus cavity after surgery to help maintain the surgical openings. While the idea of a sinus stent isn’t new, the concept has evolved significantly with the latest advancements in medical technology.
First introduced in 2011, the Propel sinus implant is a device that has revolutionized sinus procedures and the very concept of what a sinus stent can do.
The How
The Propel sinus stent is small, lightweight device that when implanted, usually cannot even be felt. Once placed, the springlike construction expands to help prop open the sinuses after surgery. As the stent begins to gradually dissolve, it releases steroid medication directly to the sinus lining. And because it’s designed to dissolve on its own, removal of the device is unnecessary.
The Why
Using the Propel sinus stents has a number of benefits, serving to make sinus procedures more effective and deliver better results.
Lasting relief with minimal inflammation and scarring
Sinus stent implants work to decrease inflammation and prevent the formation of scar tissue post-surgery. They accomplish this by both physically helping to keep the sinuses open following the procedure and by delivering medication with anti-inflammatory properties in targeted doses over time.
By minimizing the potential for inflammation and scarring, stents enable optimal healing to take place after surgery. Procedures are more effective, yielding far greater outcomes and sustained benefits to give patients longer lasting relief from chronic sinusitis
Reduced need for additional procedures
In some instances, scarring and ongoing inflammation associated with chronic sinusitis can eventually cause sinus blockages to redevelop, which may then require further surgery.
However, the sinus stent implant actively helps to prevent this scenario, significantly reducing the potential need for additional procedures.
Less side effects
The Propel sinus implant delivers a strategic, localized course of steroids that effectively serves to minimize swelling and inflammation. This typically makes taking oral steroids unnecessary. As a result, patients can avoid the risk of major side effects associated with systemic steroids.
Oral steroids can increase your risk of infection and have the potential to cause weight gain, osteoporosis, diabetes, and other serious health problems, particularly when taken in high dosages or for prolonged periods.
The sinus stent releases the steroid in a controlled fashion, only and directly to the place it’s needed, helping the sinus tissue to heal more successfully. Approved by the FDA, the Propel implant is both safe and effective.
Are you sick of suffering from chronic sinusitis? To learn more about the benefits of sinus surgery and use of sinus stents, contact us at the Ohio Sinus Institute today. We can help you identify the treatment option that’s right for you. So you can find lasting relief from your symptoms and breathe easier.