Nasal sinus diseases and treatment

03.02.2020
832 views
Print

Nasal sinus diseases and treatment

The sinuses are air spaces in the skull, inside the bones of the face, which drain into the nasal cavity.

The function of the sinuses is wide: heating the air we breathe before entering the lungs, moisturizing the air, building sound resonance, and easing the weight of the skull.

Nasal discharge or mucus is produced in the sinuses which drain into the nose and mouth. In cases where the mechanism goes wrong, like in common cold, for example, the sinus drainage pathway becomes blocked and does not drain properly, which could lead to the accumulation of pus and inflammation inside the sinuses, a situation which is known as sinusitis.

For acute sinusitis the best treatment is local, using a large and frequent quantity of nasal salty water lavage with local or systemic decongestants that most of the time is enough. Anti-biotic treatment is kept for very severe disease or when acute sinusitis becomes complicated. 

Another common condition is the persistent inflammation of the sinuses that results in the growth of the sinus tissue which could lead to the creation of nose and sinus polyps.

Sinus polyps can spread and block the nasal cavity. This blockage can cause a feeling of blocked nose as well as a decrease in the sense of smell.

Surgery of the nose and sinuses, FESS, is an endoscopic surgery performed under general anesthesia using a camera through the nostrils. During the operation, the diseased tissue (polyps) is removed and the nasal sinus drainage pathway is enlarged to improve the sinus passages, improve the nasal airflow and sense of smell. The surgery is a very good procedure for chronic sinus disease.

Dr. Ofer Gluck graduated from the Semmelweiss Faculty of Medicine in Budapest, Hungary, and he is specialized in ENT medicine, head & neck surgery in the Soroka Hospital in Beer Sheva. After the completion of his specialization, he started a fellowship in nasal and sinus surgery and facial plastic operations at the Royal Hospital of Manchester, England, under the guidance of the leading and renowned authorities in this field of medicine, Prof. Tim Woolford and Dr. Raj Bahala.
Upon his return to Israel, he worked for 5 years as a senior surgeon at the Edith Wolfson Medical Center. Currently, being a co-founder and vice-chairman of the ENT Department at the Assuta Ashdod University Medical Center, he was appointed as head of the nasal and sinus surgery service.
He believes that the patient should be approached as a holistic entity, focusing not only on the particular problem for which he presented, but all aspects, including emotional and physiological, next to physiological and physical, must be considered at planning the treatment.


back