In an NCR (National Public Radio) airing, Judy Foreman, who writes a health column for The Boston Globe, describes her experience in having sinus surgery to correct her chronic sinusitis NPR Story.
Is Sinus Surgery Curative?
The report described that Judy now has 3 or 4 sinus infections in a year versus 5 or more. “I get a cold and I freak out because I know it’s going to be there for three weeks. Other people get it and they’re done in five days,” Judy Forman stated.
Judy’s surgeon, Dr. Ralph Metson, shared with NPR, “Surgery is usually not curative. He or she will still have infections after surgery. But hopefully they’ll be less frequent, less severe and shorter in duration. A brief course of antibiotics will work better after surgery.“
Quote from NPR report, 10/4/2010
Ralph Metson, M.D.
Massachusetts Eye and Ear Infirmary, Boston
If Surgery is Ineffective, Why are there over 300,000 performed per year?
“There are some surgeries which are needed, states Dr. Rob Ivker, severe nasal polyps are one example. But the majority of surgeries are performed for a common deviated septum. This should not be an automatic cause for surgery. Surgery should be the last resort. The majority of patients who have followed the Sinus Survival program have achieved success without surgery.
Do I Need to Have Surgery?
A common theme of individuals who do resort to surgery is to try anything to just end the sinus pain. When your daily life includes sinus headaches, sinus congestion, cheek pain, post-nasal drip and you become a throat-clearing, coughing, hacking person who is ready for any relief, it’s understanding that you will do just about anything.
Because I didn’t have the Sinus Survival information 10 years ago, that’s why I underwent sinus surgery myself. My experience was very similar to Judy’s, until I learned how to address the UNDERLYING CONDITION to change my laundry list of symptoms.
Is There a Cure for Sinusitis?
Cure is a strong word. Did I cure my Chronic Sinusitis? YES. It is no longer “chronic”. Did I eliminate the majority of my symptoms which cause such pain for years? – ABSOLUTELY. Have I had a sinus infection since? – NO, not in over 5 YEARS! Do I still have the occasional sinus symptom – YES. Do I suffer daily – NO. The difference now is that if I wake up with some sinus inflammation, I know what to do and it goes away quickly. I know the relationship between all of the contributing inflammatory factors which cause the chronic condition, so I hopefully will never have that again.
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