Sinus issues in Los Angeles are extremely common, as 31 million American adults have sinusitis and about 2 million of these live in the Los Angeles area. Allergies in Los Angeles are much worse than other cities in the country due to the warm climate and geography. Making these issues worse is the poor air quality, as the City of Stars has an incredibly high air pollution rate.
All of these factors combined in one city gives many residents in Los Angeles sinus issues. While almost half of sinus congestion issues improve within one week without antibiotics, some people can suffer from continuous sinus congestion for months on end. If you have inflamed or irritated sinuses for six months or more, this is diagnosed as chronic sinusitis.
Chronic sinusitis is when the mucus that is congesting your sinuses becomes infected or inflamed, and it can be very painful or uncomfortable. Your sinuses are cavities located behind your nose, eyes, and lower forehead, so if you feel prolonged discomfort in these areas, it may be due to an issue greater than just seasonal allergies.
Symptoms of chronic sinusitis include:
Chronic sinusitis can be difficult to treat, but our ENT specialists in Los Angeles can offer a minimally invasive surgery to treat this nasal problem. This form of sinus relief in Los Angeles is a long-term solution for an issue that can cause pain that won’t go away. This surgery is called balloon sinuplasty.
Balloon sinuplasty is for those who have extreme congestion and inflammation. Many people resort to this option for Los Angeles sinus congestion after over the counter medications and home remedies don’t work. While sinus problems are often treated with surgery, balloon sinuplasty is a highly effective method that our patients wish they had tried sooner!
Balloon sinuplasty is a minimally invasive surgery that involves an ENT manually cleaning out your sinus cavities to remove congestion. In 2016, researchers found that 100% of adults who received this procedure all reported improved sinus problems 3 and 6 months after surgery without any unanticipated side effects.
If your sinus pressure and pain do not resolve properly with medications and other remedies, you may benefit from a doctor manually clearing out your sinuses. As stated above, balloon sinuplasty can work for patients when other solutions don’t.
Patients who undergo balloon sinuplasty in our Los Angeles office often report:
Trying out different sinus solutions in Los Angeles can be expensive, especially if you end up wasting money because the solutions don’t work. Many of our patients tell us that they end up saving money after paying for a balloon sinuplasty procedure because they no longer have to seek out sinus relief options. Finding the solution to your sinus problems will save you money because you don’t have to spend any more trying out solutions that don’t work.
Our office, unlike many ENTs in Los Angeles, accepts most PPO insurance plans, Medicare, and select HMO’s. We understand that sinus issues are common and painful in the Los Angeles areas, so we try to make our services open to as many Angelenos as possible.
The balloon sinuplasty surgery is performed as an in-office, outpatient procedure, meaning that there is no overnight visit. Our staff will want to observe you after the surgery to make sure you don’t experience any of the rare side effects, then you can go about the rest of your day feeling decongested.
During the balloon sinuplasty process, an ENT doctor in Los Angeles will insert a tiny balloon catheter into the nostril to get access to your sinus openings. Then, they will expand the balloon to open the sinus pathway, thus bypassing any inflammation that blocks the mucus from escaping your sinus cavities.
Once they have access to the mucus that has gathered and irritated your sinuses, the doctor will spray a saline solution inside the sinus cavity, thus flushing out all the mucus. Once the sinus cavity has been cleared, the balloons are removed, leaving a larger opening and clean sinus cavity behind.
Most of our balloon sinuplasty procedures take less than an hour, and we can use local anesthesia if it makes you more comfortable. Oftentimes, our patients leave our office feeling good as new and are ready to return to their everyday life a day or two after surgery.
Serious side effects are very rare with this surgery. It’s normal to feel groggy, tired, or tender in the nasal area for the next few days. We often ask that patients avoid blowing their noses for 48 hours following surgery. It may feel like you need to blow your nose, but it’s best to let it drain naturally.
The board-certified ENT doctors of Westside Head & Neck treat all general conditions of the ear, nose, and throat. Every doctor under Westside Head & Neck has extensive training in the treatment of:
Even more serious conditions such as neck, mouth, and throat cancer can also be diagnosed and operated on by ENTs. We accept most PPO insurance plans, Medicare, and select HMO’s to keep hearing, swallowing, and breathing relief open to more Los Angelenos. Our two offices are located in Santa Monica and Culver City. To set up an appointment to discuss your ENT issues with any of our physicians at either location, please call (310) 361-5128 or email appointments@westsidehn.com.