Do you have nasal polyps that interfere with your breathing, give you frequent headaches, or affect your sense of taste and smell? These are just a few of the more problematic symptoms that nasal polyps can create.
While not all nasal polyps require removal, when they become large or disruptive enough, removal may be your best option.
In this case, you want a sinus surgeon who has ample experience under their belt, which certainly describes Cecil Yeung, MD, and Marcus Hershey, MD at Houston Sinus Surgery. Dr. Yeung and our team have successfully performed more than 4,000 sinus surgeries, which means we have the experience you need to breathe easier again.
Here’s a look at how nasal polyps develop and when removal may be your best treatment option.
Nasal polyps at a glance
If you have chronic inflammation in your nose, which is typically due to chronic sinusitis, the irritation and inflammation in your nasal passageways can lead to the development of polyps. Polyps are soft, noncancerous growths that form in the lining of the nasal passageways.
In many cases, polyps can be small enough that you’re not even aware of their existence. In other cases, however, these growths can become large or numerous enough that they create problems.
Symptoms of problematic nasal polyps
If you have a large polyp or numerous polyps, they can create a wide range of symptoms, such as the following:
- Congestion
- Runny nose
- Headaches
- Post nasal drip
- Loss of taste or smell
- Pressure in your face
- Snoring
- Nosebleeds
As you can see from this list, these symptoms, depending on their severity, can have a serious impact on your quality of life.
Conservative options for nasal polyps
The first step in finding an appropriate treatment plan for your symptoms is to identify the underlying cause. After we review your symptoms, Dr. Yeung uses our in-house CT scanner to get a closer look at what’s going on inside your nasal passageways.
If we discover the presence of nasal polyps, we typically first treat the problem with more conservative measures, such as:
- Nasal sprays that contain steroids to reduce inflammation
- Antihistamines
- Antibiotics
- Oral steroids
If these treatments prove ineffective at reducing your symptoms, it may be time to explore nasal polyp removal.
Removing nasal polyps
If we decide that removal will garner the most favorable results, we use an advanced technique called endoscopy to perform your polypectomy. With this minimally invasive approach, a small, high definition camera is threaded into your nose to see your polyps. Then, using specialized instruments, the polyps are removed without the need for making any incisions in your face.
This procedure on an outpatient basis, which means you’ll be free to return home the same day. In most cases, it doesn’t take more than a week or two for the nasal passages to heal and the inflammation to subside.
If you have problematic nasal polyps and want treatment, or if you want to see if polyps are causing you problems, we can help. To learn more, book an appointment online or over the phone with Houston Sinus Surgery today.
