I had this surgery back in July 2008.

"Was recovery painful"? The initial two days after the surgery is done is painful. For me it was extremely painful. However, there were other patients also who went for it but did not really find it all that painful. So, yes, I was the weird one driving the nurses and my doc mad because I was getting severe frontal headache and burning in the nose. I am a very sensitive person in every sense of the word. So I don't think anyone else will find it very painful.

"Did you notice an immediate improvement in your symptoms or was it worse before it got better"? It will take sometime for the nose to heal and feel the difference. You don't start to see any significant change immediately after the surgery. For me it took 3 months to feel the difference but for most people it takes much lesser. Yes, for me, it was worse before it got better.

"Was there anything particularly traumatic about it"? No, there was none.

"Is it really all that bad?" Sinusitis is a very common disease. Many people live with for whole life. Only in RARE cases complications can occur. The infection may spread to the linings of the brain and cause meningitis.

I don't think think there is any significant difference in the FESS procedure across various countries. The surgery is done under General Anesthesia (GA).

Finally, I would like to say surgery is the last thing that you should go for. When all other medications have failed to treat the disease or relieve the symptoms and the symptoms are SERIOUSLY HAMPERING your quality of life ONLY then should you decide to enter the operation theater. Also, don't think the surgery is going to change your life dramatically and everything will become perfect. It does not work like that. In my opinion, the purpose of the surgery is to relieve the symptoms but NOT to cure the disease. If you don't expect much from the surgery you may be amazed to see the improvements but if you expect too much, you may end up being disappointed as well.

Hope that helps.

Thanks a lot for your reply. It seems a lot of people put surgery off but it doesn't sound all that bad. I am at the stage where it's seriously hampering my quality of life. Each day it gets a little bit worse. I've no idea why but surgery is the only option i can see having any impact on it.

I feel a bit better informed about the condition now so i will know the right questions to ask the consultant when i see them. I'm also going to look into a balloon sinuplasty. There are a couple of hospitals offering it here so i'm going to see what my options are. I feel better about it anyway so thanks again for your detailed rely. Best

TJ

The objective of my first post was rather to make you avoid the surgery than go for it. Surgery is not necessarily a good solution. If you have a poor immune system or underweight then your sinus infection may recur even after multiple surgeries. In that case the real problem is with your immune system than it is with your sinuses. If you have a good immune system (the blood count of the white blood cells are normal) and a healthy weight surgery may help your case. As I said earlier, surgery should only be done when all other medication efforts have failed to improve the condition. Even if the medicines are giving you only partial relief even then you should wait until the medications completely fail to cause any improvement. I went for the surgery only because my system failed to show any response to the medicines, my condition was REALLY BAD, and significant fatigue made my life absolutely miserable. Now the headache is back again (not as bad as before and it's responding to medicines) and I am back to medications even though my blood counts are normal. You can consider consulting with your doctor about the following remedies (generic name):

1) Pizotifen 1.5mg
2) Flunarizine 10 mg
3) Amitriptylene Hydrochloride 25mg
4) Tolfenamic Acid BP 200mg.

These medicines are working well for me. Good luck!

Sorry to hear it's gotten worse again. I was all ready to have the surgery when i went to see the consultant yesterday but she had a look with a camera and told me that i don't have chronic sinusitis! Sure feels like it, which i told her and she said i had narrow passages. Anyway she gave me a nasal spray (Nasonex, her favourite apparently) and i'm back in 8 weeks for a follow up.

The inflammation has been reduced from when i had the scan so clearly something has been working. It's probably a combination of things as i've tried a lot of different treatments over the past 12 months. Could it be the nasal sprays actually worked? A couple of times i've bween surprised when the doctor has told me the my sinuses are better. I almost didn't believe him!

I have just started irrigating again with hypertonic solutions and have been using the saltpipe regularly and just began oil pulling. I've noticed some relief from the irrigation, an increase in energy and well being from the oil pulling and an improvement in my breathing from using the saltpipe. Whether or not these have had an effect on the sinusitis i don't know but i will continue using them.

I began to regret not having the surgery when i was offered it previously but now it seems that waiting was the best thing to do. Anyway i guess the bottom line is if you do have chronic sinusitis and are offered surgery it may be worth waiting and looking at all the alternatives first. I will look into those medicines, cheers. Best

TJ

Seems like you had a case of acute sinusitis. I am surprised the doc offered you surgery so quickly. Fortunately, you were wise enough to wait. It's good that the sinuses have cleared up. I think the nasal sprays are doing the trick in reducing the inflammation. Just be careful not to try something else in the middle of when you are taking something already prescribed by the doc.

Well, I am not a doc but I think the nasal passages grow in proportion with the body. They widened my nasal passage yet the headache is all over me again. I really don't know what the hell is this all about. I don't even know the cause of my headache. It could be sinus headache/allergic rhinitis/migraine as well. I say so because sometimes tolfenamic acid (for migraine) relieves my headache more than the sinus remedies. The doc said it's probably not a sinus headache because it's not supposed(!) to come back so soon after the surgery. He asked me to go for a CT scan but I didn't because the medicines are doing a good job.

I am glad that you didn't go for the surgery. Always try to avoid any kind of surgery, not just FESS.

Oh believe me i do. I'm not a big fan of hospitals. One thing that made me have to think carefully about it was the fact that the doctor wanted to redo my sinuplasty and it took me about two weeks to recover from that. I had huge packs put in each nostril and having those pulled out was an eye watering experience i can tell you!

But also once i got the diagnosis i wanted to try all options before opting for the procedure. The CT scan showed chronic inflammation and i have suffered with a chronic sinus headache but maybe your right, it is acute. Well it is now. It's reassuring that it's getting better but odd that the symptoms are worse; how can that be?

Can i ask why it is that most people are so against FESS. Is it because of the success rate? It seems like a straightforward procedure.

Yes, it's an awful feeling to stay in hospital. It feels no less than a prison for me. And yes, those packs are irritating as well.

"sinuplasty"? Are you talking about septoplasty? The deviated septum, in my opinion, isn't a big problem, unless, of course, it's seriously deviated.

I am glad you have an acute sinus problem, not a chronic one. Because at least you know it's going to go away at some time. The chronic one seems like never ending!

If you feel really bad again, get checked by endoscope once again.

Headache has a numerous possibilities. I was surprised to see the migraine tablet was relieving my sinus headache and draining the sinuses better!! Can you believe that?

The procedure of FESS is straightforward but the outcome isn't so much. If you have a poor nasal anatomy and weak immune system (allergies as well), it's highly likely the headache is going to come back. Yes may be it's because of the success rate.

The other they I was telling someone that dynamite isn't the solution. Now I think I myself need one because my headache is going to explode anyway otherwise!

Hi. I am wondering if Balloon Sinuplasty was a part of the conversation - ?

I have heard that it is the other option, after a CT Scan - FESS or Balloon Sinuplasty.

I don't know first or even second hand. But from what I have read it is less invasive than FESS.

Picked out this article from USA Today. Interesting .......

usatoday.com/news/health/2009-07-26-sinuss urgery27_N.htm