Sinus Surgery is Nothing to Sneeze At

Chronic rhinosinusitis affects up to 16% of Americans, with annual direct costs of $4.3 billion, the researchers noted. That includes about 500,000 surgical procedures a year. Research has shown that endoscopic sinus surgery improved outcomes for a majority of patients, but many studies were limited by retrospective design and unvalidated outcomes. For previous prospective studies, small sample size was a limiting factor. To address those limitations, the researchers enrolled 438 patients at three sites between July 2004 and December 2008. Patients were evaluated before and after surgery, using CT scanning, endoscopy score, and both the Rhinosinusitis Disability Index and the Chronic Sinusitis Survey.

After loss to follow-up, results from 302 patients -- with an average of 17.4 months of postoperative follow-up -- were analyzed for this study, Smith and colleagues said. Analysis found:
*On average, patients improved by 15.8% (or 18.9 points) on the Rhinosinusitis Disability Index, which was significant at P<0.001.
*The average improvement on the Chronic Sinusitis Survey was 21.2% (or 21.2 points), also significant at P<0.001.
*Patients significantly improved general quality of life (at P<0.001) on all eight subscales of the Medical Outcomes Study Short Form-36.
*Among patients with poor baseline quality of life, 71.7% of patients experienced clinically significant improvement on the Rhinosinusitis Disability Index and 76.1% on the Chronic Sinusitis Survey.
*Compared with patients undergoing revision surgery, those having primary surgery were 2.1 times more likely to improve on the Rhinosinusitis Disability Index and 1.8 times more likely to improve on the Chronic Sinusitis Survey. The differences were significant at P=0.006 and P=0.02, respectively.

The study "confirms the importance of functional endoscopic sinus surgery as a tool in the armamentarium of physicians" treating patients with chronic rhinosinusitis.

Dr. Kayem is an Otolaryngologist (ENT - Ears, Nose, Throat) & Facial Plastic Surgeon located in Beverly Hills, CA at the Rox Center for Snoring. He is Board Certified and has been in private practice for over 20 years. Dr. Marc Kayem enjoys all aspects of Otolaryngology & Facial Plastic Surgery and has also developed significant experience with the Pillar Procedure (Snoring Implant) and Sinus Surgery. For more information on sinus surgery and all of their surgical and non-surgical treatments please visit our website (www.sinussurgerylosangeles.com) to reach our clinic’s team of patient care experts. You can also contact us at:
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