There are no longer landmarks that show us our way. If patients don't respond well to surgery, Smith said he then tries to determine why the ongoing inflammation is occurring. In the past ten years, there's been a revolution in the way we diagnosis and treat sinus disease. Since the late 1980s, we've begun to understand the reasons why people develop sinus disease much better. With sinus surgery, the cavity is cleared away, and whatever is causing the blockage or inflammation is removed.
Polyps take up space inside the nose and sinuses.
These almost always develop into chronic sinus problems. This is a chronic disease and if you don't continue to treat it, generally with medicines, it will likely exacerbate and get worse. Even after surgery, we still treat the patient to prevent reoccurrence of chronic sinus disease. It's not something we cure, per se, it's something we can control. Generally, we keep patients on medication following the surgery.