Sinus pressure, congestion, and nasal discharge often signal sinusitis, a problem that begins as an acute infection and has a bad habit of turning into a never-ending sinus problem. The board-certified physicians at ENT and Allergy Specialists of Western PA offer the full scope of sinus care, ranging from in-office procedures to advanced sinus surgery. The physicians and surgeons may be able to help you achieve you long-lasting relief from sinusitis with today’s most advanced treatments, including minimally invasive balloon sinuplasty. Don’t put up with sinus pain; call the office in Sewickley, Beaver/Vanport Township, Seven Fields, or Ohio Valley in McKees Rocks, Pennsylvania, or book an appointment online today.
Membranes that produce mucus line your sinuses. The mucus normally leaves the sinus through an opening and drains into your nose.
When an infection causes inflammation in the mucus-producing tissues, you have a condition called sinusitis. The inflamed tissues then block the opening and trap mucus in the sinus.
There are two types of sinusitis:
Acute sinusitis develops when you have a cold, and the virus travels from your nose or throat to your sinuses. This type should get better within four weeks.
Sinusitis that lasts longer than four weeks is called chronic sinusitis. Sometimes, the viral infection clears up, yet the inflammation remains. Chronic sinusitis may also persist when allergies cause ongoing inflammation or problems inside your nose, like polyps and enlarged turbinates, block the sinus.
Sinusitis causes:
Many people find that their sense of smell or taste diminishes when they have sinusitis.
Your physician treats acute sinusitis with medications to ease your symptoms while the viral infection clears. Should a bacterial infection develop, you may need antibiotics.
Treatments for chronic sinusitis include:
If your doctor suspects allergies cause your sinusitis, they perform allergy testing and develop an allergy treatment plan. The ENT and Allergy Specialists of Western PA team leverages over 100 years of combined expertise in the treatment of allergies through painless drops and convenient shots.
When polyps or other structures block the sinus opening, your doctor may recommend surgery to eliminate the problem. The team uses minimally invasive techniques for nearly pain-free sinus surgery, performing some procedures in the office and other advanced surgeries in the operating room.
A new option for treating some cases of sinusitis is to use a balloon catheter to gently dilate the opening of several of the sinuses in the nose. Advantages to this include the potential for an awake procedure and minimal discomfort.
Serving as the time-tested but continuously improved technique for providing lasting long-term benefit for chronic or frequently recurrent sinus issues, sinus surgery is generally performed in the operating room with several specially designed instruments and ultra-high-definition imaging.
The surgeons at ENT and Allergy Specialists of Western PA utilize a cutting-edge neuro-navigation system to ensure that the procedure is safe and effective.
If you struggle with ongoing congestion, call ENT and Allergy Specialists of Western PA or book an appointment online today.
