As a successful sculptor living in Oregon, Debbe Cornitius had always been in the best of health.
"I had never been sick a day in my life," Debbe recalls, "until the onset of asthma 10 years ago. I just thought it was a bad cold that wouldn't go away." Yet while her asthma attacks occurred sporadically, her stuffy nose and sinus pressure became constant companions. For almost five years, Debbe suffered with chronic nasal blockage. During this time, she completely lost her ability to taste or smell. "Since my sinuses were so blocked, I constantly had to breathe through my mouth. If someone had covered my mouth, I would have suffocated," she remembers grimly.
After three years of suffering, Debbe decided to see an allergy specialist, thinking that perhaps allergies were the cause of her health problems. For the next two years, an allergist treated her with medications from nasal washes to prescription steroids like prednisone. This offered temporary relief from her symptoms, but no permanent improvement in her sinus condition. Her work began to be affected, and her inability to taste and smell became a dangerous hazard.
"As a sculptor working in stone and metal, I often use a blowtorch. Not being able to smell proved to be very dangerous for me. I recall one incident while working with my torch that I caught my jacket on fire," Debbe relates. "I could not smell it burning and had no idea I was in danger until I saw the smoke. Luckily, I was able to put it out before it began to burn me."
In addition to affecting her work as an artist, the chronic nasal blockage and asthma took its toll on Debbe's overall quality of life. "I was very fatigued all the time," she states. "It was like I constantly had the flu. My energy level was very low, my sinuses were always clogged, I could not breathe and I had very bad headaches. Life was not fun."
Debbe's condition continued to worsen, and eventually, she says, "My allergist threw up his hands and said, 'That's it, I've done all I can,' and he referred me to an ENT physician." She was referred to Dr. Peter Hwang, Assistant Professor of Otolaryngology/Head and Neck Surgery at the Oregon Health and Science University and Director of the Oregon Sinus Center (at the time). Dr. Hwang is now Associate Professor and Director, Stanford Sinus Center in Stanford, CA.
After an office evaluation and a series of nasal and sinus CT scans, Dr. Hwang diagnosed Debbe with severe nasal polyps. The polyps appeared to have developed at the same time as her asthma over 7 years ago, and had grown unchecked the entire time. The airway in her nose was totally blocked.
Debbe's nasal polyps were located in a delicate and critical area of her sinuses, which made surgery more risky. Yet she no longer felt she had any other options to improve her health. "I was at the end of my rope. Something had to be done. Dr. Hwang agreed and said he believed that my condition would not improve without the surgery…the polyps would only continue to grow and the discomfort would only get worse."
Dr. Hwang told Debbe about a relatively new approach to sinus surgery called image guidance surgery, or IGS. As Dr. Hwang explained to Debbe, sinus anatomy is quite complex, and each patient's anatomy has unique variations. These variations can become even more complex if disease, inflammation or prior surgeries have affected existing anatomical structures. By displaying three-dimensional computer images fo each patient,s unique anatomy, an IGS system allows the surgeon to operate and "see" the location of the instrument tip in the patient's sinuses at all times during surgery. This technology offers the surgeon an additional visual reference that can supply valuable information and allow a more precise removal of diseased tissue.
Debbe remembers, "Dr. Hwang said that initial reports about this type of surgery were hopeful… that many patients were having successful sinus surgery with the IGS procedure." She decided to go forward with the operation. "He made me feel very confident that the surgery was definitely worth it, even considering the risks of complication because of the area involved. The new techniques also made me more comfortable and pretty certain of a positive outcome in spite of the risks."
Even though the surgery was lengthy and complex, it was quite successful. Debbe couldn't believe how much better she felt. "I was amazed," she remembers. "Even just a few hours after my surgery, all of the pressure that I had lived with for 10 years was gone. When I told the recovery nurse that I felt 100% better after waking up from the anesthesia, she said that was from the painkillers, and that I wouldn't feel so good when the medicine wore off. But there was very little pain, and only mild headaches for a few days that I was able to control with a little medication.
Within days, I could breathe again," she exclaims.
She regained her sense of smell and taste, which she hadn't experienced in 10 years. "Within two weeks of my surgery, for the first time in a decade, I had the sensation of smell. Then I began to taste food again. It was wonderful! I felt great! My energy levels went up and my asthma even got better."
These days, Debbe once again enjoys the pursuit of her art. She is still under Dr. Hwang's supervision, since polyps have a tendency to return. However, now they can be monitored and controlled. Debbe says, "I highly recommend anyone facing nasal surgery to look into
IGS. It is amazing. My surgery was relatively pain-free and IGS can reduce some of the risks associated with this kind of surgery."
Surgeon Comments
Even though we do not yet have a cure for nasal polyposis, sinus surgery can provide significant benefits for patients like
Debbe. In more complex cases such as hers, computer-guided navigational technology can provide the sinus surgeon with an extra degree of confidence when working around critical structures such as the eye and the brain. Almost all sinus surgery can be performed in an outpatient setting with minimal to no nasal packing and a very manageable amount of postoperative discomfort. The key to long-term success in managing nasal polyposis is close follow up and careful surveillance by the ear, nose, and throat surgeon.
-- Dr. Peter Hwang
The patient testimonial you have just read is from a real patient relating their actual experiences. This patient's story may or may not be representative of the total population of people suffering from sinusitis and sinus-related disease, as results vary from patient to patient. Most patients receive varying degrees of relief from their symptoms; however, there are some patients who have reported receiving no relief. Please see your healthcare provider to determine what medical course is right for you.
