For individuals that live with chronic sinusitis, excruciating symptoms that can make a significant impact on their breathing affect their lives daily. In fact, about 30 million individuals are affected by sinusitis on a yearly basis.

When antibiotics and nasal sprays just won’t deliver you adequate results, balloon sinuplasty is the solution that properly drains your sinuses, providing relief to facial pain and pressure and allowing you to breathe freely again.

While just reading the words “procedure” or “surgery” can raise alarms and frighten you, the McAllen sinus doctor at the Glatz Group, Dr. Frank R. Glatz, wants to ease your fears and anxieties about balloon sinuplasty by explaining the basics of the procedure and what to expect as you recover from it.

The Balloon Sinuplasty Basics 

Balloon sinuplasty is a relatively short, simple yet effective, and safe procedure that can be administered in our McAllen office by our trusted ENT doctor and specialists. When sinusitis causes one’s nasal cavities to become inflamed and/or swollen, they cannot properly drain out mucus as intended.

The goal behind balloon sinuplasty is to slightly alter these inflamed cavities with a small balloon-like device that inflates in order to open up the pathways without the need to perform surgery that extracts tissue or bone.

Before he or she begins, your doctor will administer the right dosage of general or local anesthesia before the procedure to ensure you don’t feel much pain, if any, during the operation.

What to Do After a Balloon Sinuplasty

In comparison to your traditional nasal surgeries, the recovering period from undergoing balloon sinuplasty is a quick process. The procedure only takes about an hour to perform on average, and because there are no tissues or bone removed, patients can resume regular scheduled daily activities as soon as the following day!

  1. Avoid Driving After the Procedure

Getting behind the wheel after the procedure is done isn’t recommended. Because the procedure employs the use of general, injection, or topical anesthesia administered beforehand, the patient must plan accordingly and make sure a designated driver, such as a relative or friend, is able to drive them back home safely following the procedure.

  1. Follow Your Post-Procedure Instructions

While specific recovery periods do vary on the patient, it is strongly advised to follow the doctor’s orders when resting, rinsing, and sticking to medication schedules. It is important to take any antibiotics that you were given until the prescription’s completion and to use other medications prescribed to you as directed for their full duration. You may also be prescribed a saline solution designed to lubricate and help heal for three to seven days after the procedure.

Also, avoid blowing your nose within the first 24 hours after the procedure. Your sinuses will still be extremely sensitive as it restores its cavities back to normal function. You may experience swelling, nasal congestion, and potential nosebleeds after you get out and all these symptoms are completely normal and temporary. However, if you feel these symptoms recurring for more than 2 days, please do not hesitate to call us for further guidance.

  1. Avoid Strenuous Activities

Straining yourself at work or at home shortly after a balloon sinuplasty can elevate your heart rate, and that isn’t ideal for your healing tissues and underlying structures because elevated blood pressure worsens bleeding.

Since the sinus area is still rather tender after a procedure, any extra pressure that is applied while doing strenuous activities can do significant damage to the tissues and underlying structures that are healing after a balloon sinuplasty.

A Worry-Free Procedure Conducted By a Skilled Hand

While the idea of a nasal procedure might sound intimidating at first, don’t worry. This efficient procedure is less painful than other nasal surgeries and procedures by miles, and the recovery period is truly brief–days, not weeks.

At the Glatz Group, we work hard to ensure that balloon sinuplasty will be one of the best decisions you’ve made for your well-being. If you are tired of living with sinusitis or other sinus issues, contact our McAllen sinus doctor at the Glatz Group to see if you are an eligible candidate for balloon sinuplasty.

Contact our McAllen balloon sinuplasty specialists

today at (956) 631-2957 for your balloon sinuplasty consultation. You’ll be Glatz you did!