If you’re considering undergoing or have recently undergone endoscopic sinus surgery (ESS), you might have heard your doctor talk about sinus debridement. If the term doesn’t ring a bell, it’s alright, but you do need to know what a sinus debridement is when recovering from endoscopic sinus surgery. This article explains all you need to know about sinus debridements. Read on to learn more!
What Is Sinus Debridement?
A sinus debridement is a routine process performed after endoscopic sinus surgery. You will undergo endoscopic sinus surgery when non-invasive, conventional treatments cannot treat your acute or chronic rhinosinusitis.
Suffering from these conditions means that your sinuses grow inflamed and narrow, resulting in nasal secretions being trapped in your sinuses. When your sinuses do not clear up, over time, these trapped secretions could grow infected and cause a host of difficulties. Endoscopic sinus surgery can help drain your nasal passageways and clear up your sinuses.
If you’ve undergone sinus surgery to treat chronic sinusitis or remove a blockage, you might experience residual bleeding, discomfort, or drainage. When this occurs, it could leave behind crusts, clots, and scabs.
What Happens During a Sinus Debridement?
During a debridement, your surgeon inserts an endoscope in the nose to view the sinus cavity. They also simultaneously insert various surgical instruments to suction or remove any postsurgical residue such as crusting, excess mucus, bone chips, and more.
Sinus debridement is usually performed under local anesthesia, but may require general anesthesia for some patients intolerant of in-office procedures. The procedure typically takes about 15 minutes to complete.
How Often Do You Need Sinus Debridement?
Sinus debridement is a crucial part of your sinus surgery and post-surgery recovery. It ensures that you heal optimally and that there are no signs of recurrent disease or infection. While there is minimal research on the procedure itself, the need for postoperative sinus debridement following endoscopic sinus surgery is supported by scientific theory, clinical study, and anecdotal evidence.
You may need to undergo multiple debridements until your sinuses are completely cleared of postsurgical residue, or at least until the postsurgical debris and residue reduce and become easier to maintain.
Your surgeon determines the frequency, duration, and degree of your debridement procedure. Before determining the frequency of the procedure, your surgeon will consider the severity of your chronic sinusitis or rhinosinusitis, the level of clotting or residue left behind in your sinuses, the degree of the endoscopic sinus surgery performed, the level of inflammation in your sinuses during the surgery, your medical history, and other such factors.
Visit us at SinusHealth for more information on sinus debridements and how you could benefit from them. Our board-certified otolaryngologists provide trusted answers to your questions about nasal and sinus conditions and treatment methods. You can also contact us online!