Revision Endoscopic Sinus Surgery

Our experienced surgeon Dr. Stephanie Joe is affiliated with UI Health -The University of Illinois at Chicago, Eye and Ear Infirmary. Dr. Joe has decades of experience and is an expert sinus surgeon. Dr. Joe will promptly evaluate your sinus problem and determine why you may still be having problems despite previous sinus surgery.

Revision Sinus Surgery

For some patients, sinus surgery may not have achieved the desired results. There are many reasons that sinus surgery may not have been successful, some of these reasons include:

• Severe chronic sinusitis. Some forms of sinusitis are more difficult to treat than others.
• Development of scar tissue
• Inadequate tissue removal
• Inadequate sinus drainage (often caused by inadequate tissue removal or development of scar tissue)

This type of surgery involves removing inflamed tissue that was left behind from the previous surgery, with the goal of opening all of the sinuses as wide as possible.

What is Endoscopic Sinus Surgery?

Functional endoscopic sinus surgery is the use of telescopes and cameras through the nose to reach, open, and clear out the sinuses. As an analogy, a sinus cavity can be thought of as balloon with an aerated portion and a small opening. Sometimes, it is beneficial to widen this opening to aid in the long-term function of the sinus as well as to remove disease and secretions from the sinus.

There are no external facial cuts in this type of surgery. As a result, there is less morbidity associated with this type of surgery as compared to surgical approaches to the sinuses with external facial cuts – no change in the external appearance of the face, faster recovery, and less pain.

In Dr. Joe’s practice, the importance of postoperative care and long-term follow up with ongoing endoscopic surveillance of the sinus and nasal cavities is emphasized. In general, medical therapy with antibiotics and nasal saline irrigations and sometimes oral steroids are used in the postoperative period along with weekly or fortnightly endoscopic surveillance and adjustment of medications as sinus inflammation resolves. Thereafter, we follow patients with periodic nasal endoscopic examinations.

So, in addtion to discussing the pros and cons of treatment for your condition, we emphasiz long-term follow up for continued management of your chronic sinusitis.

If you have further questions, please contact us to set up an appointment.