Balloon Sinuplasty Helps Sinus Sufferers at Texas Health Harris Methodist Hospital HEB

Warmer temperatures bring fresh growth and sinus problems for many.

Sinus problems are extremely common. Over 20 million office visits every year have to do with sinus infections, says Dr. Timothy Ragsdale.

I just had continuous sinus infections," says patient Kathy Davis. "I would get a sinus infection, get an antibiotic, get better for two or three weeks, have to go back to the doctors office, it would be another major sinus infection.

Traditional sinus surgery involves removing tissue to help the sinuses drain better," says Ragsdale. "The new technique that we have, balloon sinuplasty, is a less invasive way of doing the same thing.

Using minimally invasive technology at Texas Health Harris Methodist Hospital H-E-B, Ragsdale inserts a narrow catheter into the sinus.

As we are looking at the entry to the sinus, we will insert a light catheter," says Ragsdale. "At that point it causes the forehead or the cheeks to light up as a red light. It helps verify the location of our catheter.

The balloon can be inserted over the light and then we can inflate the balloon.

The balloon can then be removed and the opening stays there. Studies have shown that 95 percent of these openings are still present at one year.

Recovery was fantastic, says Davis. For me there was no bruising, no scarring, there was nothing and I got to go back to work almost immediately.

If we can lower the recovery time, lower the risk, have less pain afterwards than that helps both me and the patient, Ragsdale says.

I can smell the flowers when I go by the flowers in the front yard now, which smell very nice, so thats a good thing, says Davis.

Sinuplasty is just one of the minimally-invasive procedures available at Texas Health hospitals.

Texas Health Resources
www.TexasHealth.org/CuttingEdge
1-877-THR-WELL

Category:

Nonprofits & Activism

Tags:

• Texas
• Health
• Resources
• Harris
• Methodist
• Arlington
• Memorial
• Presbyterian
• hospital
• hospitals
• health
• care
• healthcare
• system
• Dallas
• Denton
• Fort
• Worth
• Southwest
• Plano
• Hurst-Euless-Bedford
• HEB
• Azle
• Cleburne
• Stephenville
• Allen
• Kaufman
• www.TexasHealth.org
• TexasHealth.org
• sinus
• sinuplasty
• Timothy
• Ragsdale
• M.D.
• MD
• infection