A Clearer Way Ahead

Thousands of people across Asia battle the problem of a blocked nose that won’t respond to decongestants or even antibiotics. Now there’s new hope.  A novel procedure, Balloon Sinuplasty, which involves the insertion of a balloon catheter through the nostrils, has been tested successfully on sinusitis sufferers at Mount Elizabeth Medical Centre in Singapore.

Once inserted, the balloon is inflated to gently widen and restructure the blocked passageway, allowing the return of normal sinus function. It is less invasive than normal endoscopic sinus surgery.

A team of Ear, Nose and Throat (ENT) specialists from Singapore recently returned from training in the US. They are the first in Asia to use this technology.

Dr Goh Yau Hong, ENT specialist at Mount Elizabeth Medical Centre, says the most striking difference between balloon sinuplasty and conventional sinus surgery is how fast patients recover after the procedure because there is much less bleeding or pain.