"It was awful." Claire Maestri is talking about the sinus infection she just couldn't shake. "Could not get the energy to do much at all, much less care for a child and live my life the way I wanted to live it."
So she came to Doctor Ford Albritton for a procedure called balloon Sinuplasty. Dr. Ford Albritton, otolaryngologist. "What happens when we get too much traffic on a highway? We widen the lanes, right?"
To widen the sinus opening, the doctor inserts a tiny balloon up through a patient's nose, then inflates it. "Here's a closer look at the balloon device and how it works. The doctor threads this wire up through the sinus. This is the actual balloon. Watch what happens when we inflate it with saline solution." The pressure from the balloon permanently re-shapes the sinuses, allowing them to drain properly.
Dr. Ford Albritton, otolaryngologist, "We're essentially re-modeling the narrow opening of the sinuses where these really thin bones live."
Unlike more traditional sinus surgeries, recovery from the balloon treatment is quick because no tissue is removed. Claire Maestri, sinus patient, "I was back up on my feet in no time." But it is the results that have both doctors and patients cheering.
Dr. Ford Albritton, otolaryngologist, "It is the biggest advance to this disease since the introduction of the telescope, endoscope into the nose."
Claire Maestri, sinus patient, "My child is a lot happier, my spouse is a lot happier." All because Claire feels like herself again.
Balloon sinuplasty is quickly becoming widely available, and insurance usually covers the cost.
