Volume 11 No 1 January 2016 the Trumpeteer An Ear- Responsible Publication of Central Carolina ENT, PA In-Office Balloon Sinuplasy for Chronic Sinusitis by Richard Alexander, MD, Ph.D, MBA Chronic sinusitis can affect one s quality of life in many ways. Some of the symptoms of chronic sinusitis can include nasal obstruction, nasal congestion, postnasal drip, decreased sense of smell, facial pressure, headaches, fatigue, pain in the upper teeth, and pain behind the eyes just to name a few. Once a thorough history and physical examination has taken place, your ENT doctor will determine what further testing you may need including nasal endoscopy (using a camera to evaluate the nasal passages) and/or CT imaging of the sinuses. Once the diagnosis of chronic sinusitis has been established, the treatment options can then be explored. Traditional sinus surgery is a procedure performed in the operating room under general anesthesia. It requires extensive knowledge of the sinus passages and procedures can often take two to three hours depending on the extent of sinus disease. The goal of sinus surgery is to widen the natural openings of the sinuses (maxillary, frontal, ethmoid, and sphenoid) to allow improved drainage of the sinuses. Long courses of general anesthetic can lead people to feel lethargic and some patients may experience post-operative nausea and vomiting. Additionally, time is needed for the effects of general anesthesia to wear off causing people to miss work for a few days following surgery. Recently, there have been advancements in sinus surgery to include the use of balloons to open sinuses. The use of balloons to open the sinuses cause less trauma to the surrounding tissues and saves time by requiring less tedious dissection of the sinus passages. Furthermore, there has been a shift to performing these balloon dilation procedures in the clinic. In-office balloon sinuplasty is better for patients in the following ways: local anesthesia is used so patients can recover sooner, in-office procedures are cheaper and more cost effective, some patients can feel relief almost immediately after treatment, and patients typically do not need nasal packing after the procedure. In office Sinuplasty December 2015 continued on page 2 Visit Us @ www.centralcarolinaent.com
continued from page 1 A typical procedure in the office lasts about one hour depending on which sinuses are being treated. You will be given oral medication in the office. Your nose will then been treated with both topical and injectable anesthetics. The balloon can then be placed into each sinus and used to widen the natural openings of each sinus. After the procedure, you will need a responsible adult to drive you home. Not all patients with chronic sinusitis are candidates for the in-office balloon procedure. There are some patients who will need more extensive sinus procedures in the operating room. There is overwhelming evidence that patients who undergo in-office balloon procedures show high rates of patient satisfaction, and experience less side effects and complications. Chronic sinusitis is a complicated disease process that often overlaps with other nasal disorders such as allergies. Your doctor can help determine if you have symptoms of chronic sinusitis and determine your treatment options. To see a video animation of the in office sinuplasty, paste the YouTube link into your.browser or go to our website: www.centralcarolinaent.com https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q8mmcfzn54e Visit Us @ www.centralcarolinaent.com page 2
Importance of an Annual Hearing Evaluation by Michael MacKinnon, Au.D Older patients with significant hearing loss often report that their hearing is just fine. However after asking a few pointed questions, there is often indication that they have hearing loss. In this article I will discusst some of the reasons for the disconnect between a patient s perception and test results, as well as present some of the reasons it is important to have your hearing checked on regular basis. Typically our hearing changes so gradually that it is not perceptible to the individual. The slow incremental changes mean that people often habituate to the listening experience that they are having. Each time a small change occurs the person believes it is a normal way of hearing. Another reason that some patients have the perception that they are hearing normally, simply comes down to denial and a lack of understanding of how our hearing works. Often patients that are in denial, report that it isn t their hearing the issue but rather it is the people to whom they are listening to that is mumbling or speaking so quickly that their words are blending together. And people understand that hearing loss is a fairly normal part of aging but they refuse to believe that it is happening to them. Typical age related hearing loss can make it easy to think that others are mumbling or speaking too fast. As we age our ability to detect small gaps between speech sounds declines, even when we can hear sounds at a normal level. This means that speech rates which used to be easy for a person to follow becomes difficult. Our hearing also tends to begin decreasing in the higher frequencies. High frequency sounds in English give us a perception of clarity and are typically produced at softer levels than low frequency sounds in the English language. Lower frequency sounds, give us a perception of volume. When the higher pitched sounds of English are cut out from speech, we hear sounds as if the speaker is mumbling. For these reasons people often report that they hear others but often that they have difficulty understanding others. If you ve noticed that it s starting to sound like mumbling or if others are telling you often do not seem to be understanding, then it s time to get your hearing checked. It s recommended by the US Preventative Task Force that anyone over the age of 50 that has a perceived hearing problem, have a hearing evaluation. By being evaluated on a regular basis you can track your level of hearing as well as your ability to understand words. Knowing there s a hearing loss allows you to modify communication habits and also allows you to explore the option of hearing aids, if recommended by your audiologist Call our Apex office (919 363 9311) or Sanford office (919 774 6829) to schedule your hearing evaluation Visit Us @ www.centralcarolinaent.com page 3
the Trumpeteer January 2106 Odds and Ends CCENT Active in the Community Girl Scout Troop 1899 came to visit Christine Lupienski, CCENTs Nurse Practitioner in November 2015 to earn their Junior Girl Scout First Aid Badge. The First Aid was a badge the girls were very excited by and they had a million questions. Christine didn t discount any of their questions and tried to answer them all on their age level, while giving them information about further education for later in life. The girls constructed their first aid kits with Christine as she discussed how to handle urgent first aid issues and the first steps to take in an emergency. The Girl Scouts then watched 3 videos on first responders, learned how to assess and treat someone suffering from a nosebleed. Obagi Products On Sale at CCENT Schedule a free consultation with our nurse practitioner, Christine Lupienski, FNP. Make yourself a priority in 2016 The Central Carolina ENT newsletter is published quarterly on our website. All materials are created by our staff for the education of our patients and website visitors. Any reproduction must be approved in writing by our editor. If you have any comments or suggestions, please direct them to: Editor: J.P. Miller, M.S. CCC-A, jmillerccent1@gmail.com. Apex office: 919-363-9311. Sanford office: 919-774-6829. Visit Us @ www.centralcarolinaent.com page 4
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