Sinus411.org

The web site for people with sinus problems

Sinus Surgery:  Who needs it anyway?

Sinus surgery is performed for many different types of disorders of the nose and sinuses, but there is a core group of problems that accounts for the vast majority of sinus surgeries being performed in the US and around the world.   These “core” reasons for sinus surgery may vary slightly from region to region.  For instance, fungal infections of the sinuses appear to be more frequent in the southern areas of the United States more so than the northern states.   But these core reasons or common disorders that require surgery probably account for 90% or more of the surgery being done in the United States.  Below, we’ll outline some of these more common reasons for surgery.  We’ll define what they are in layman’s terms.  We’ll describe what a patients symptoms might be, what the doctor may find on examination or nasal endoscopy, what a patients CT scans might look like, and describe what surgery may be done in a typical surgery (acknowledging that surgery will vary from patient to patient because every patients sinus problem and other underlying medical problems very considerably). 

So, here are some of the common reasons for sinus surgery in the United States.

1.  Chronic Sinusitis with Nasal Polyps (keep reading below)
2.  Chronic sinusitis without nasal polyps
3.  Fungal Sinusitis of two types:  

a. Allergic Fungal Sinusitis,

b Fungus ball in the sinuses.

3. Mucoceles of the sinuses