In-Office Technology
CT Scanner
Balloon Sinuplasty
Image Guidance Sinus Surgery
Radiofrequency Turbinate Reduction
Rhinaer - Nasal Drainage
Vivaer - Nasal Valve Collapse/Obstruction
Drug-Eluting Sinus Stents
In-Office Anesthesia
CT SCANNER
A CT scan is a piece of medical equipment that uses a series of X-ray images to create two and three-dimensional views of the internal anatomy. A CT scan of the sinuses may be suggested by your provider to better detail possible diseases involving your sinuses or nasal cavity that may be the cause of your symptoms.
Radiation doses from our CT scanner are 10 times less than CT scans from the hospital. Furthermore, unlike hospital-based CT scanners, our in-office scanner is upright. This provides our patient who may have mobility issues, chronic back pain, shortness of breath or other discomforts when laying flat a more comfortable experience.
Imaging is sometimes covered by your office copay, making it a more affordable option. Thus, having your sinuses scanned in our office is not only convenient and efficient, but overall safer for our patients with reduced radiation exposure.
BALLOON SINUPLASTY
Balloon sinuplasty is a convenient in-office procedure that takes less than an hour to complete. A small, flexible balloon catheter is placed into the nasal passages and sinus cavities to relieve both sinus pressure and pain. 96% of patients experience positive results with decreased rates of sinus infection, sinus headaches, and nasal congestion. Because it is minimally invasive, recovery time is short.
VivAer®Treatment
If you regularly experience difficulty breathing through your nose and nothing seems to help, you may have nasal obstruction. Until now, finding a long-term solution often meant surgery. Now, your physician may be able to offer you lasting relief by performing a non-invasive VivAer treatment to open your nasal airway.
RhinAer® Treatment
If you experience a persistently runny nose, post-nasal drainage, nasal congestion, itching and sneezing, you may be one of the millions of people living with chronic rhinitis. Until now, treatment often meant managing symptoms with medications and sprays. For many patients, these symptoms may be caused by abnormal signals in the nose. At Clear Lake Medical Center ENT, our physicians can offer you RhinAer to disrupt these signals and provide lasting relief. Patients typically return to normal activity on the same day.
IMAGE GUIDANCE
SINUS SURGERY
Image guidance refers to the use of a patient’s CT images to map and guide the position of surgical instruments during sinus surgery. This technology significantly improves the safety of sinus surgery, decreasing the risk of damaging the brain, eye, nerves, and blood vessels.
This technology is now available in the office-based setting at Clear Lake Medical Center ENT. We are excited to be able to provide our patients a safe, often financially advantageous option to treating their sinus disease and nasal polyps in the clinic setting. Image guidance can be applied to balloon sinuplasty, functional endoscopic sinus surgery, and nasal polypectomy. The option of in-office anesthesia is offered to our patients to improve their comfort and experience.
RADIOFREQUENCY TURBINATE REDUCTION
Turbinates are structures located along the walls of the nasal cavity that function to humidify and clear the air we breathe before entering the lungs. Inferior turbinate hypertrophy refers to the state of the turbinates being in a persistent state of swelling and obstruction.
At Clear Lake Medical Center ENT we possess radiofrequency technology that allows us to treat inferior turbinate hypertrophy in an office based setting, allowing you to experience clearer nasal breathing in less than one hour. In-office reduction is typically performed using nasal endoscopes to assist with visualization. Local anesthesia is injected into the inferior turbinate tissue, which is then followed by application of radiofrequency to the tissues underneath the lining. This results in an immediate contraction of tissues, opening the nose to clearer and freer breathing. Sedation and general anesthesia can also be provided to our patients by request in the office setting..
DRUG ELUTING SINUS STENTS
Drug eluting stents are a new technology that uses a dissolvable stenting device to slowly release therapeutic levels of steroids to the sinus tissues over 30 days. Steroids not only help prevent scar formation and the narrowing of sinus drainage tracts during the healing period, but in the case of nasal polyps, helps prevent their recurrence.
Drug eluting stents may be placed in the office when early recurrence of nasal polyps is detected after prior sinus surgery. The stents may be removed as early as one week later, but may also be left to dissolve completely over a period of 4 to 6 weeks. Drug eluting stents are a good option for people who are not good surgical candidates for nasal polypectomy, can not tolerate oral steroids, or have poorly controlled diabetes. Placement is easily tolerated using topical and local anesthesia.
IN-OFFICE ANESTHESIA
& SEDATION
To optimize your comfort and experience, we offer anesthesia in conjunction with our office based procedures for individuals who qualify. Insurance may cover in-office anesthesia fees if the procedure meets criteria for medical necessity.
Anesthesia is also offered at self-pay rates and for cosmetic surgery performed in the office. Please ask your provider for more information should you be interested in this service.