If you suffer from sinus issues but are reluctant to go to the doctor, we encourage you to listen to this week's audio blog. We spoke to Dr. Jay Young about the most common sinus disorders, how they're diagnosed, and some incredible new treatment options to find relief.
Shelby Stockton (00:00):
Welcome to the South Florida ENT audio blog. I'm Shelby Stockton and today I spoke with ENT and facial plastic surgeon, Dr. Jay Young. Sinus issues can be debilitating, so Dr. Young educates us on the different types of sinus procedures, some more invasive than others. If you struggle with sinus issues and you're ready to see what's out there to give you some relief, then take a few minutes and listen to this episode.
Hi, Dr. Young, how are you today?
Dr. Jay Young (00:27):
Well, hello there. How are you young lady?
Shelby Stockton (00:29):
I am wonderful. Thank you for calling me a young lady. I really appreciate it.
Dr. Jay Young (00:33):
Well, I call it how I see it. Right?
Shelby Stockton (00:35):
Oh God, you're wonderful. I love you already. All right. So today we're going to talk about sinus surgery. And I'm very lucky I don't suffer from sinus issues, but I have friends that do, and it really affects their life. It affects their sleep, it affects their life. They cancel plans with me, which is an issue.
Dr. Jay Young (00:51):
Absolutely.
Shelby Stockton (00:52):
So can you please tell us what are the-
Dr. Jay Young (00:55):
Enlighten us.
Shelby Stockton (00:56):
Yes, please enlighten us. What are some sinus surgery procedures?
Dr. Jay Young (01:01):
Yeah. So I think what we have to do is backtrack and say, well, what is it that's really wrong? When people say, "Doc, Dr. Jay, I've got the sinuses," what they usually mean is that they can't breathe well through their nose and there's a lot of overlap. Is it a nasal problem? Is it a sinus problem? Or is it both? Many times it's both. And the key with this is times have changed. Technology has changed. In the past 10 years, but really in the past three to four years, we have so many more options and procedures that can help patients with sinus issues.
When you say what are the types of sinus surgery, when the traditional sinus surgery is done in the OR, it's called functional endoscopic sinus surgery or FESS. This is what people would anecdotally say, "Oh, I'm getting the Roto-Rooter," what it means is that their sinuses are blocked. You're unblocking those sinuses. So the more traditional endoscopic sinus surgery is unblocking those sinuses that are blocked with tiny micro instruments that remove any of the damaged tissue or any of the tissue that's leading to the block. Where are the sinuses located? You got sinuses in your forehead, between the eyes, the cheeks, couple more sinuses in the back. So bottom line is to keep it simple. If your sinuses are blocked, we have techniques to unblock them.
Now, we can even do that in the office. And in the office it's called a balloon sinus dilation. Essentially, instead of removing tissue, you're putting a small catheter with a balloon in the opening for the sinuses. You're dilating that opening, removing the balloon; nothing stays in your nose. Now the sinus can drain the way it's intended to. So in short, it comes down to removing tissue to open the sinuses versus using a balloon to dilate the opening to get them to drain more effectively.
Shelby Stockton (02:57):
That's so interesting. So is that... I'm not a doctor, obviously. Is that surgery versus non-surgery? Is the balloon procedure considered a surgery?
Dr. Jay Young (03:07):
It can be considered a surgery, but we like to say procedure.
Shelby Stockton (03:07):
I see.
Dr. Jay Young (03:11):
Because it's a procedure done in the office. It's pretty straightforward where there's not a lot of pain, there's not a lot of downtime. We have really, really, really come a long way in terms of our numbing and aesthetic techniques where typically it's a very comfortable procedure. But since we are doing the same work that we were doing before in the OR, we're opening those passages, so the nomenclature probably doesn't matter as much in terms of surgery versus procedure. But they are used interchangeably. But we tend to say a balloon procedure because, if nothing else, it kind of goes with the adage that you're doing something in the office, minimally invasive. And many people, when they think of surgery, they think of general anesthetic. And most of the time we just do this with local topical anesthetic. So while it is a procedure or surgery, we tend to say procedure because it's so much more streamlined and a lot easier nowadays.
Shelby Stockton (04:11):
Okay, great. Well, can the sinuses be cleared without procedures or surgeries?
Dr. Jay Young (04:17):
Yeah. So we always start with medicines first. So typically speaking, allergy is the root cause of most of these symptoms. You take care of the underlying allergy, maybe give them nasal sprays such as Flonase or Nasonex, maybe an oral antihistamine. By the time they come to see me, they usually have already tried some of those other things. They tried the medications, they've already been on antibiotics. And the primary care physician is concerned because they're taking too many antibiotics and too many steroids.
So that's when we come into play because, as you alluded to earlier, your friends that are skipping out on you, it's because they have headaches, they've got pressure, they can't sleep, they feel miserable. So it's not even about lifesaving per se. It's more about quality of life. And when you can't breathe through your nose, you can't sleep. When you can't sleep, you don't recover. When you don't recover, it affects all those other aspects of life.
So generally speaking, we can greatly improve the quality of life by doing these minimally invasive procedures to help them breathe better. They help with the congestion, help with the runny nose, help with the romantic postnasal drip, help with the headaches, help with the pressure, help with pretty much all of those symptoms where the nose and the sinus kind of overlap.
Shelby Stockton (05:36):
So speaking of my friends, they can be... I don't know if they're obstinate or what, but they're not going to the doctor. They're not getting it fixed. They're just kind of like living through it because it'll eventually go away. What is your advice to those types of patients?
Dr. Jay Young (05:52):
Yeah. We see that an awful lot. Times have changed. There are many people that are still thinking about the 1980s where the sinus surgeries were... It was a lot more bleeding, a lot more downtime. And they just don't realize the options. So our job as doctor... The Latin root of doctor is to teach. So we are teachers in a sense. So we need to teach and educate that there are options. And those options are widely available and they are typically covered by insurance. And you don't have to suffer with the sleep disorders, you don't have to suffer with the congestion, you don't have to suffer with the pressure and the headaches and the recurrent infections. So my advice is to just seek an evaluation to see if you're a candidate for the minimally invasive sinus procedures. Because the number one thing I hear patients say after the fact is, "Man, Doc. Dr. Jay, I wish I'd come to you earlier."
Shelby Stockton (06:49):
Exactly. And then you don't have to cancel dinner with me.
Dr. Jay Young (06:53):
More importantly. More importantly. Right?
Shelby Stockton (06:56):
Well, doctor, thank you so much for your time. I know you're very busy, but we appreciate it.
Dr. Jay Young (07:01):
We appreciate you. Thank you for your time.
