Bring music with earphones for play during the procedure if desired.
Bring a family member or friend to drive you home from office.
Before the Procedure
If your procedure consent has already been filled out, take one prescribed 10mg Valium tablet 10 minutes prior to your appointment time. Otherwise, you will take the Valium after arrival and signing of the consent form.
The first 20-30 minutes of your visit will be spent decongesting and numbing your nasal passages. You can expect to feel numbness in your throat as well, which can give you the sensation of difficulty swallowing and/or breathing. This is a normal side effect of the numbing process.
Once your physician has adequately numbed your nose, you will be led into the procedure room. Up until this point, your family members may be with you.
During the Procedure
You will be awake for your procedure.
You may feel some discomfort or pressure with inflation of the balloon although it is for a very short duration, usually a couple seconds.
You may hear the tissue or bone remodeling during the balloon inflation. This is normal and a sign that the passage is being dilated.
If at any point you are unable to tolerate the discomfort, please let your physician know.
The lights will be turned down in the procedure room.
Your physician and an additional surgeon will be present to assist the procedure.
After the Procedure
You will typically have bright red blood from the nose that may last for 12-24 hours
Headaches are common after balloon sinuplasty and usually last for 4-6 hours after surgery
It is also common for your throat and nose to “burn” for 4 hours after the procedure. This will resolve with time.
You should take Ibuprofen (Motrin, Advil) 800mg 4 hours after the procedure if you were given Ibuprofen at the time of the procedure
You should do your nasal saline rinse 2 hours after the procedure and try to get 1-2 rinses in the evening of the procedure. After that, you should rinse 5-6 times per day until your follow up
You may gently blow your nose 12 hours after the procedure
The throat numbness and difficulty swallowing will gradually reduce 2 hours after the procedure.
You can resume nasal sprays 24 hours after the procedure.
Follow Up
You should call the office to schedule a follow up appointment for 7-10 days after the procedure. At that appointment, they will likely examine your nasal cavity with a camera to ensure normal healing of the nasal passages.
During your recovery period please notify your physician or present to the emergency room for any difficulty breathing, high fever above 102 degrees, persistent bleeding, or any other urgent concern.
