How PROPEL® Can Aid Your Severe Sinusitis

It feels like a permanent cold. Your nose is always stuffy, you have pain in your sinuses, and postnasal drip makes your voice sound like a creature from a horror movie. When it lasts three months or more, you’ve got chronic sinusitis.

In severe cases, that runny nose could require surgery to permanently vanish. While minimally invasive surgical techniques reduce the pain and recovery time of sinus surgery, it’s possible that post-procedure inflammation and scarring can prolong the inadequate drainage at the heart of your sinus issue.

Dr. Alexis Furze is a sinusitis specialist, and he recommends the use of PROPEL®. PROPEL is a sinus implant for patients with severe or chronic sinusitis conditions.

The blockages behind sinusitis

The breathing and pressure problems you experience with respiratory infections result from blockages that interfere with the natural drainage and pressure equalization functions of your sinuses. Some people have small air passages that become blocked easily, while others suffer from conditions that create blockages.

These conditions include:

• Allergies: reactions causing respiratory effects, such as hay fever. Allergies can cause inflammation that blocks air passages.
• Deviated septum: the wall between your nostrils may have structural defects from genetics or injury that reduce drainage efficiency.
• Nasal polyps: otherwise harmless tissue growths reduce the amount of space in your nasal passages.
• Respiratory tract infections: colds are the most common, but viruses, bacteria, and fungus can all infect your airways, causing inflammation that blocks drainage.
• Other conditions: any medical condition that causes nasal blockages carries sinusitis as a potential complication, such as cystic fibrosis, HIV, and other immune system issues.

The PROPEL sinus stent

In medicine, stents function to physically keep passageways open. The PROPEL stent specifically addresses post-surgical conditions in your sinuses. It holds back inflammation resulting from your procedure to keep your widened airways open and draining well. Mucus drains and air circulates, speeding healing and making quick work of your recovery.

PROPEL is more than a physical device. Your PROPEL stent contains anti-inflammatory medications that release slowly to reduce swelling and prevent scarring. 

Dr. Furze puts your PROPEL stent in place during surgery for sinusitis. Over the next 30 to 45 days, it starts to dissolve, having supported your nasal passage through recovery and releasing its anti-inflammatory gradually.

There’s no need to return to Dr. Furze to have the stent removed. Most patients can’t feel PROPEL when it’s in place. There’s even evidence that PROPEL may reduce the future occurrence of nasal polyps.

Sinus issues need the attention of an experienced and knowledgeable otolaryngologist. With over 15,000 nasal procedures, Dr. Furze has the trusted background you want from an ear, nose, and throat specialist.

Contact Dr. Furze’s office by phone at 949-205-7745 to schedule your exam and consultation. Dr. Furze will discuss every option with you so you can make the right decision for your condition. Book your appointment now.