Balloon sinus dilation now done in-office by Fort Smith surgeon

Aug. 14--Insurance companies are liking Dr. Michael Marsh these days.

The Fort Smith ear, nose and throat doctor has perfected sinus balloon dilation without the need for general anesthesia. This drops costs and recovery time from the old way of doing things.

Doctors from around the nation are flying in regularly to see how it's done, and patients are giving thumbs up, even when on the operating table at ACENTA (Arkansas Center for Ear, Nose, Throat and Allergy) on Phoenix Avenue.

"Some of them fall asleep, but others stay away and ask questions," Marsh said by phone Friday from his office.

Although the practice of sinus balloon dilation has been around for about six years, applying local anesthesia for the procedure instead of having the patient go entirely under is a new way of doing the operation.

"It's the future of sinus surgery," Marsh said of the in-office balloon dilation. "It's equally effective as the old technology, there's less recovery time, and it saves money."

Both forms of sinus surgery have a 92 percent success rate, Marsh noted. Advances in image guidance technology also help the doctor see and precisely locate the blockage.

Sinusitis affects about 12 percent of the adult U.S. population, making it one of the most common health problems in the nation, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Marsh said he has conducted 70 to 80 of the sinus surgeries a year. He has been in practice for more than 20 years, having started ACENTA about 10 years ago after Sparks Health System bought the Holt-Krock Clinic where he practiced.

Two of his latest patients for the balloon dilation are Nanci Dunn of Cameron, Okla., and Mike Stiles of Branch. Both said in interviews with the Times Record this week that they have not experienced complications from the procedure done at ACENTA.

"It felt like a weight had been lifted off of me," said Stiles, a cattle rancher. "It's been like night and day. It's cleared up my channels."

Stiles said before the surgery he regularly had sinus infections, took allergy shots once a month, antihistamines and other medications. His complications were also exacerbated by a broken nose from a calf kick, he said. He said he can now sleep and smell better.

"When I went in I didn't feel nothing, but I could hear it crunch a bit, but it was not a big deal," Stiles said of the procedure that used a balloon to open up the sinus cavities.

"I'm not a good patient so I put it off for a long time," Dunn said. "I was really nervous about it, but I'd do it again in a heartbeat."

Dunn, who had also experienced face trauma earlier in life, said she had suffered from sinus problems for years that often triggered asthma once a month or so. Because of the fractures, her procedure called for a little more work than normal.

Since the surgery about a month ago, she said she has had no need for antibiotics or steroids like before, and can also smell and sleep better since she is able to breath through her nose. The procedure was "virtually pain free," Dunn added.

Like most medical procedures, there are two- and four-week check-ups. For Dunn, whose surgery called for cleaning out all of her sinus cavities, there were dissolving stitches.

Dr. Gary Highfill at Sparks Health System still performs the sinus balloon dilation procedure, but in the hospital under anesthesia, according to his office.

___

(c)2017 Times Record (Fort Smith, Ark.)

Visit Times Record (Fort Smith, Ark.) at www.swtimes.com

Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.