Willimantic—Windham Hospital is one of the first hospitals in eastern Connecticut to utilize a revolutionary procedure that can reverse the effects of chronic sinus disease and other sinus conditions.
Balloon Sinuplasty, done using general or local anesthesia, is a minimally invasive outpatient procedure in which doctors examine the natural drainage area of the sinuses using an endoscope. Then, using a sinus balloon system, the blocked sinus is gently dilated restoring normal sinus drainage and function.
In the past, procedures to relieve similar sinus conditions included the cutting or removal of tissue and entailed, in some cases, more than a week of pain medication. Pain and recovering time are minimal with Balloon Sinuplasty.
“After this procedure, patients can be back to work in two to three days,” says Windham Hospital’s Ear, Nose and Throat Specialist Stephen Rouse, MD.
While some procedures to relieve chronic sinus disease and other sinus-related ailments still require incisions and the removal of tissue, Balloon Sinuplasty is recommended in carefully selected patients as a less painful and invasive alternative. With this method of early intervention, normal function can be restored before more serious damage is done.
“There is extensive research that shows that avoiding the removal of tissue is beneficial to the long term health of the sinuses,” says Dr. Rouse.
Windham Hospital is a 130-bed acute care hospital serving thousands of people in northeastern Connecticut. For nearly 80 years, Windham Hospital has been renowned for its outstanding physicians and extraordinary nursing care and today offers a unique combination of talent and technology in patient care as a member of Hartford HealthCare, Connecticut’s premier healthcare system.
