Functional Endoscopic Sinus Surgery (FESS)

Minimally Invasive Sinus Surgery

This outpatient minimally invasive sinus surgery does not require any incisions on the face, yet efficiently and effectively targets diseased areas within the nose and sinuses. None of the healthy tissues within the sinus cavities are disturbed, but rather only the diseased or blocked areas are widely opened to allow proper drainage of the sinus cavities and prevent recurrent sinus infections.

Functional Endoscopic Sinus Surgery

Candidates for Functional Endoscopic Sinus Surgery in Los Angeles are those who suffer from chronic and recurrent sinus infections (sinusitis) that is too advanced to be simply cured by In-Office Balloon Sinuplasty. These are patients with severely deviated septums, large turbinates, nasal polyps, fungal sinus disease, thick infected secretions or another more advanced nose/sinus issues.

When patients undergo this procedure our sinus surgeons will make sure that all of the associated nose/sinus issues are also addressed so there is minimal risk of needing revision surgery. That means that this procedure may often be combined with deviated septum repair, nasal valve repair, turbinate reduction, polyp removal, Concha bullosa (enlarged middle turbinate) removal or any other procedure that may be needed to once and for all cure a patient’s nose and sinus issues and help them properly breathe through their nose. It can also be combined with rhinoplasty if the patient so wishes and often a combined approach is employed by our expert surgeons.

The surgery usually takes from 45 minutes to 2 hours depending on the complexity of the case and is done in a state-of-the-art outpatient dedicated nose and sinus surgery center with the most advanced equipment, which includes image-guidance technology. Image-guidance means that a preoperative CT scan of the sinuses is done and loaded on a special computer used during surgery, so only the diseased areas are targeted appropriately and minimize the risk to surrounding important structures, like the brain or eyes.

Anesthesia

Patients are under general anesthesia during the surgery but immediately awaken after surgery and go home within 1 to 2 hours of surgery to recover in the comfort of their own homes. Patients may have dissolvable packing, no packing or removal packing for 1 night only. Often patients report congestion and a mild headache for a few days and are usually back to work within 3 to 5 days after surgery.

Benefits of Surgery

Usually, the final benefits of surgery are seen 2-3 weeks after surgery and most patients are amazed at how well they feel at that time without nasal obstruction, sinus pressure/headache, minimal postnasal discharge, and coughing, with an improved sense of smell/taste and improved sleep.

For a consultation with one of our expert Los Angeles nose and sinus specialists, please contact us immediately.