Balloon sinuplasty is the gold standard in treating patients with chronic sinusitis

• Balloon sinuplasty is a straightforward procedure with minimal complications.

• 91% of patients said they would have the procedure again

• 85% of patients reported improvement two years after the procedure

The gold standard in helping patients who have chronic sinus conditions is called balloon sinuplasty. The Food and Drug Administration approved the procedure in 2005. It has been called the “smart surgery” due to its minimally invasive technique and brief recovery time.

Balloon sinuplasty is fairly simple, and reported problems are minimal, according to GoodRx Health. It is most often recommended for people with chronic sinusitis, after other treatments for their condition have failed. The procedure, which takes place in a doctor's office, is not as expensive when compared to sinus surgery done in a hospital setting. Balloon sinuplasty is typically covered by insurance.

"With traditional sinus surgery, that usually requires a trip to the hospital and full general anesthetic," Dr. Brian Lee of Scottsdale Sinus and Allergy Center said. "Usually less than one to two hours. And essentially what they're doing is they're removing tissue and bone, they're scraping the sinuses, usually having to partially or fully pack the nose afterwards. That recovery can be very rough, especially in the first one to two weeks. Even at the tail end of it -- four, six, eight weeks -- it's a very involved and lengthy recovery process."

Early treatment not only increases patients' quality of life, but also contributes to lasting relief and decreases out-of-pocket health care costs. The estimated annual burden of sinusitis is between $10 and 14 billion, according to Current Allergy and Asthma Reports. Patients tolerate office balloon procedures well, with an average pain score in one study of just 2.8.

"Now, with the balloon sinuplasty being minimally invasive, we're not  cutting, we're not removing tissue or bone," Lee continued. "We’re really using the  balloon technology to expand the drainage pathways, getting the same results without having to cut, remove or scrape anything. That translates into a much better recovery, meaning that usually within a day or two, most patients are back to their normal level of activity.”

Patients who chose balloon sinuplasty, on average, needed only 1.4 days of recovery, as opposed to 4.2 days for patients who've had traditional surgical procedures, according to the medical journal Laryngoscope.

The American Journal of Rhinology says that 91% of patients said they would have a balloon procedure again, while a minority of functional endoscopic sinus surgery patients said they would have the procedure again. A past study by Otolaryngology–Head and Neck Surgery Foundation found that 85% of patients still found improvements with their sinus symptoms two years following the procedure.

According to Mayo Clinic, symptoms of sinus disease are inflammation of the sinuses, sinus headache, maxillary sinus pain and thick discolored discharge.

To discover more about the balloon sinuplasty process, take a Sinus Self-Assessment Quiz.