If you suffer from the nasal congestion, drainage, and sinus headaches of allergies or sinusitis on a regular basis talk with your doctor about having laser surgery done. A new procedure, called submucosal resection (SMR) is now available to alleviate the symptoms you are experiencing. Here is a brief description of sinusitis, the SMR procedure and how it alleviates your symptoms.
Sinusitis
The sinuses are air-filled open spaces in the bones of the face. There are sinuses around the nasal cavity and above the eyes. Each sinus has a mucous lining that secretes mucus, which is then swept into the nose to be expelled from the body. They also have turbinates, tissue that filters, humidifies and warms the air we breathe. When you have an allergy to something, it irritates the turbinates, causing them to swell and fill the cavity. Sinusitis is caused by bacteria is that gets trapped by the mucus, causing an infection and inflaming the turbinates. The more inflamed the turbinates are, the less mucus is needed to cause sinus pressure and pain.
SMR Procedure
During the SMR procedure, the doctor will insert a fiberoptic wire on the end of a laser into the sinus cavity. The pulsing of the laser beam shrinks the veins and arteries in the turbinates, reducing the inflammation and allowing mucus and air to flow freely again. The procedure takes about 15 minutes and you can go home after an hour.
Benefits of SMR
Once the blood vessels have been shrunk, there is more room for everything to move within the nasal cavity. Instead of mucus being trapped in the small cavity, it can properly drain into your nose. This treatment is something that can last many years as opposed to the few ours of relief you would receive from drugs. It also does not cause any of the adverse side effects many decongesting medications cause, such as drowsiness. When compared to an endoscopic mucosal resection, the surgical cutting and removing of turbinates, laser SMR does not have the adverse side effects of scar tissue or lesions forming in the sinuses.
Advances in medicine are making laser surgeries more commonplace and give better results. There is no reason to fear having the lining of your sinuses and the turbinates cut and sutured when you can have the procedure done with a laser. No matter what the reason for sinus cavity inflammation, laser submucosal resection will alleviate the problem and stop your pain. If you're interested in learning more about laser surgeries, talk with a doctor at a practice like Eastern Carolina Ear Nose & Throat-Head.
Share17 June 2015
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