Sinuses

There are air-filled cavities in the facial bones around the nasal cavity. They help the nasal physiology. Some of these sinuses are present at birth and some of them become prominent in childhood. These sinuses form groups such as maxillary, ethmoid, frontal and sphenoid sinus.

Sinusitis

Sinusitis is the infection of the air spaces called sinuses around the nasal cavity. Short-term infections are called acute sinusitis; recurring infections lasting for more than 3 months are called chronic sinusitis. Acute sinusitis is treated as an upper respiratory tract infection and treated similarly; but in chronic sinusitis, surgical treatments are used in addition to medical treatment.

Diagnose: It is diagnosed with the history of the disease, nasal endoscopic examination, and radiological investigations. Computed tomography (CT) is the most useful technique in the radiological examination.

Findings: Similar complaints are seen with a serious cold causing a head-face pain, nasal congestion, cough, malaise, and nasal discharge.

Medical Treatment: In acute and some chronic sinusitis, 10-14 days of an appropriate antibiotic treatment and some medications are used to treat the swelling in the nose. Surgical treatment for the causative agent in the treatment of chronic sinusitis is the most effective method. Drug treatment alone will not be useful.

Surgical Treatment

The experience and knowledge of the surgeon are very important in these techniques, which are called Functional Endoscopic Sinus Surgery (FESS). The old techniques, which cause more damage than their benefits, should be abandoned although they are still implemented. In this surgical application, sinuses are reached by working with the help of an endoscope. Sinuses are cleaned without damaging the surrounding tissue, natural channels are opened, and the physiology is enabled to work regularly again the operation.