Stealth Device for Sinus Surgery
B O S T O N, Nov. 20 -- A new kind of surgery, called "Stealth," is helping to make sinusitis less painful.
More than 30 million Americans suffer from the pain and pressure of the occasional or chronic sinus infection. And though most will find relief in decongestants, hot compresses, non-prescription pain relievers or antibiotics, those with chronic infections will not respond to such remedies.
"Chronic sinusitis can turn into a devastating problem," says ABCNEWS's medical editor, Dr. Timothy Johnson. "In fact, a recent study suggests that chronic sinusitis can cause more pain and disability than congestive heart failure, lung disease and back pain combined."
When sinusitis turns serious, surgery is often the sufferer's only option. Unfortunately, traditional sinus surgery can be a complicated procedure. Closeness of the sinuses to the brain, the eye and major arteries, can make the surgery risky. In addition, the surgery can be disfiguring and painful as it involves making incisions in the mouth and face.
GPS for the Sinuses
But add technology such as infrared optics, electromagnetic beams, "interactive" CT scans and sophisticated computers, and there's reason for the sinus sufferer to breathe easier. Image-guided surgery, also known as stealth surgery, allows physicians to minimize the chances of sinus surgery complications, operate more thoroughly, and perform more difficult procedures. In essence, it allows them to actually see what they couldn't see before.
After taking a special CT, or computed tomography, scan of the patient's sinuses to create a "road map" of the patient's skull, the surgeon can correlate the CT image with the position of a probe. During the procedure, surgeons place a hand-held probe in the patient's nose while correlating their position with the scan on a computer screen. This image-guidance system shows the location of the probe's tip so the surgeon can safely navigate through trouble spots.
"The system in a simplistic way performs [like] a glorified GPS [global positioning system]. It provides the surgeon a "relatively" precise ability to maintain his/her orientation as one operates through the relatively complex anatomy of the sinuses," explains Dr. Roy Casiano, head and neck surgeon at the University of Miami School of Medicine who has been using the technique for several years.
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