Chronic sinusitis and its associated illnesses remain some of the most common medical conditions treated in the U.S. Rhinosinusitis has been said to affect approximately 10% of the U.S. population. The cost of these illnesses to the health care system is staggering and has been estimated to be over 6 billion dollars a year. This does not account for days of work or school missed, or decreased productivity during the course of the infection.
Certainly, the creation of new antibiotics and other types of therapy will be important in treating this disease as the amount of antibiotic-resistant bacteria continue to increase. Research studies are focusing on the roles of fungi, biofilm formation, various inflammatory mediators, and superantigens associated with certain kinds of Staph. aureus in this disease. Newer means of treatment including antibiotics in nasal sprays for topical application within the nose, as well as nebulized antibiotics which are inhaled into the nose/sinuses are being used more frequently in therapeutic interventions. Endoscopic sinus surgery has become a mainstay of treatment for the chronic form of this disease. For about the past ten years, image-guided sinus surgery has become a reality with the invention of several different types of systems to perform this. Every patient undergoing sinus surgery does not need image guidance, however all of the operating sinus surgeons at COA make use of these systems when deemed appropriate for their patients. While there is no substitute for experience and knowledge of the complex and vital anatomical structures involved, this seems to add an extra dimension of safety and reliability to these procedures. Colorado Springs has been fortunate to have this service available at virtually the forefront of this technology in the western United States. All of the hospital systems and some of the Surgery Centers in Colorado Springs have these sinus navigational tools available. Briefly most of the systems consist of a computer workstation that displays the patient’s sinus anatomy in three distinct planes: coronal, axial, and sagittal. These usually require a CT scan performed with software unique to the operating system. Usually, two suction devices are used within the nose to act as sensors, while one transmitter is interconnected to the workstation. The position of the tip of the aspirating suction device is displayed on the computer screen as a pair of crosshairs interconnecting on the various anatomical planes. This allows the operating surgeon to have unparalleled accuracy when approaching the base of the skull and the orbits, and is extremely useful in revision surgery, pansinus disease with polyps, tumor surgery, or difficult anatomical areas such as the anterior skull base. Future improvements will include better integration of surgical instrumentation, real-time imaging technology, and the ability to update images intraoperatively.
We at COA hope to provide the best medical and surgical options for all of your patients with acute and chronic sinus disease. In addition, we frequently have ongoing research studies on sinusitis that can provide free medication and medical care to your patients that qualify. If you have any patients that would like to take advantage of this service, or if you have any questions relating to these studies, please feel free to contact Sharon Woodworth, RN at 867-7800, Ext156.