Watch the Balloon Sinuplasty™ technology videoClick Here
For more information onBalloon Sinuplasty™
Surgery Click Here
Stuffy nose, headaches, trouble breathing? All symptoms of sinus problems.
A new procedure can clear your airways
without major surgery.
Just the words sinus surgery send chills down some people's spines. But don't worry, the
latest operation is a whole lot easier for many at a hospital in Columbia County.
Tim Turnbach is a heating and
plumbing contractor in Berwick. He almost gave up his livelihood, because exposure to dust, dampness and certain
chemicals on the job were making him sick.
"I was miserable all the time. I was tired all the time. I'd block up as soon as I'd get
around dust. It was very hard living. I even thought that I had a cold," he said.
Turnbach was considering quitting
his job. But then he heard about the new, less invasive sinus surgery Dr. Franklin Gergits was doing at Bloomsburg
Hospital.
"The beauty of this procedure is that there's no packing inside, the pain management
medications that the patients will use after surgery are minimal, and their recovery and time back to work is
quicker," Dr. Gergits explained.
It's a gentle treatment requiring skilled hands, a small wire and tiny balloon that is
threaded to the problem spot.
"We use special X-rays to visualize and confirm the placement of the balloons, and then in a
gentle fashion, we inflate the balloon, dilating the natural drainage pathway without actually cutting material,
cutting tissues from the sinuses," Dr. Gergits says.
Within a couple of days, patients are back to their normal routines.
"I get up in the morning and I'm not blocked up at all. I don't have to use any Afrin, I just
use one Claritin and Nasonex and I'm normal which was unbelievable because this was really killing
me," Turnbach says.
M.S. recently wrote following her sinus surgery: "I feel like a 'New Person'...
healthier, more energetic, and like I can conquer anything I put my mind to.
I would recommend this surgery to everyone!"
