Where passages are narrowed, he inflates a small balloon, similar to the way doctors open blocked heart arteries. It opens pathways and improve drainage, without cutting tissue or bone.

Behind your nose (sphenoid sinuses) Low center of your forehead (frontal sinuses) One method to open these blocked sinus cavities is through a treatment called balloon sinuplasty.

“Then we push another button, and it inflates the balloon.” The balloon sinuplasty opens the blocked sinus passages, allowing patients to breathe again without painful pressure.

The traditional option to open blocked sinuses is endoscopic sinus surgery where doctors use a sharp instrument to remove tissue and bone from the interior of the sinus cavity. A relatively new ...

Eating too many inflammatory foods can raise inflammation levels in the body, which in turn can make nasal polyps worse.

The sinuses drain any excess mucus through the passages that connect to the nasal cavity. Blocked sinus symptoms can start when these cavities don't drain properly.

We initially considered sinus surgery purely a drainage procedure to correct blocked sinuses that would not drain and needed to be opened or washed out. We now know it also improves the delivery ...

Takashima treats few patients with balloon dilation alone. In more than 50 cases over the past year, he used balloons to reach some sinus passages and traditional surgery to clear others.

"Sinus infections occur when bacteria, viruses or fungi gather and breed in a person's sinus cavity," said Hess. "This usually occurs because the cavity becomes blocked, causing it to fill with ...

A small, lighted camera scope is placed into the nose to help locate the sinus cavity. Once the scope is in the sinuses, light from the instrument can be visible on the surface of the face. After ...