Intense pressure, pain, congestion and headaches. These are typical symptoms of a condition more than 700,000 Washingtonians are living with called chronic sinusitis.

Now a new, minimally-invasive treatment is providing desperately sought relief to patients without any surgery.

Paula Davis has suffered from chronic sinus infections for years. She feels it in her eyes, her cheeks – a stabbing pain that won’t go away.

Ear, nose and throat doctor Michael Siegel says she has chronic sinusitis, Read more […]

An evaluation to confirm the safety and efficacy of balloon sinuplasty in the paranasal sinuses was performed. This study of 115 patients investigates paranasal balloon catheter devices that represent a recently developed suite of small, flexible tools that enable surgeons to endoscopically create an opening in a patient’s blocked or narrowed sinus ostia while maximizing tissue preservation and minimizing iatrogenic mucosal injury.

Initial evidence of the safety and effectiveness of balloon Read more […]

The preservation of normal structures, restoration of sinus ventilation, and physiologic mucous drainage are central, time-tested principles used in treating patients with sinusitis as reported by the leaders of the development of endoscopic sinus surgery, including Drs. Nauman, Messerklinger, Stammberger, and Kennedy over the last 40 years.

During this time, many instruments have been used to open obstructed sinus ostia including curettes, grasping forceps, probes, seekers, tissue-sparing forceps, Read more […]

In 2006, Drs. Siegel and Bosworth along with several physicians from Johns Hopkins University were the first physicians on the East Coast to perform balloon sinuplasty. This procedure is similar to balloon angioplasty where the heart arteries are dilated with a balloon on a catheter. In balloon sinuplasty a guide wire is gently advanced through the nose into a sinus opening. A balloon is then inflated, permanently widening the sinus opening. The balloon is then removed.

This procedure is useful Read more […]

Saline solution:
Boil 1 pint water
Add 2 teaspoons salt
Add 3 teaspoons baking soda (NOT baking powder)

Let this mixture cool to body temperature.

When using an irrigation syringe, begin by irrigating the right nostril. Tilt your head to the right side so that it is parallel to the floor. Fill the syringe with body temperature saline solution and gently push on the end of the syringe while it is within the nostril so that it can irrigate the nose. Do the same procedure on the left side, Read more […]

What is a fungus? Fungi are plant-like organisms that lack chlorophyll. Since they do not have chlorophyll, fungi must absorb food from dead organic matter. Fungi share with bacteria the important ability to break down complex organic substances of almost every type (cellulose) and are essential to the recycling of carbon and other elements in the cycle of life. Fungi are supposed to “eat” only dead things, but sometimes they start eating when the organism is still alive. This is the cause of fungal Read more […]

An antibiotic is a soluble substance derived from a mold or bacterium that inhibits the growth of other microorganisms.

The first antibiotic was Penicillin, discovered by Alexander Fleming in 1929, but it was not until World War II that the effectiveness of antibiotics was acknowledged, and large-scale fermentation processes were developed for their production.

Acute sinusitis is one of many medical disorders that can be caused by a bacterial infection. However, it is important to remember Read more […]

Insight into sinus problems in adults and children
Sinus Facts
Have you ever had a cold or allergy attack that wouldn’t go away? If so, there’s a good chance you actually had sinusitis. Experts estimate that 37 million people are afflicted with sinusitis each year, making it one of the most common health conditions in America. That number may be significantly higher, since the symptoms of bacterial sinusitis often mimic those of colds or allergies, and many sufferers never see a doctor for proper Read more […]