Quote from janet23:
My 22 year old daughter has chronic sinus infections. For the past 6 months, she has been on one antibiotic after another which did no good. Her latest was a 3 week round of Avelox, and she's still sick. She has a headache every day and bronchitis from the drainage. A CT scan revealed blockage/infection in all 4 sinuses (maxillary and ethmoidal). Her ENT wants to do surgery. She is sick and tired of being sick and tired and wants to follow his advice and have the surgery in about a month. Has anyone here gone through this and did it help? Someone told me that once you have sinus surgery, you're likely to need it again. I've also heard it's a really bad experience. Should she go ahead with the surgery or seek help elsewhere?
I had sinus surgery in May 2004 and it was the best thing I've ever done regarding my sinuses. I had chronic sinusitis for almost a year before the surgery. Everyday, I could not breath through my nose, and was always congested. I had sinus infections and was treated with antibiotics every 2 or 3 months. Since the surgery, I haven't had one problem, which is a record for me.
As far as needing the surgery again, I've talked to a lot of people who've had the surgery, and those individuals that needed the surgery again usually did not follow the doctor's recommendations (such as allergy shots). One woman I know in particular was advised to see an allergist and refused because she doesn't like injections-- she's had the surgery 3 times. Conversely, most people who've followed the advice of their surgeons and have been treated with allergy injections have been problem-free.
As far as the surgery experience, I had no pain, no profuse bleeding, or anything. I did run into some problems due to a reaction from the anesthesia, but that had nothing to do with the ENT.
In short, if your daughter has had problems for that long, I do recommend surgery, as long as she's being treated by a good surgeon.
