Sinus Operation, Anyone have that???

[christie]

K, I need to ask has anyone's child had any type of sinus correction surgery??

We had Chris back to the ENT yesterday because since his tonsils were taken out last summer he continues to get Strep (sp?) and sinus infections all the time Ped said get back to the ENT this is not normal. K, so we go back and he says first he is gonna try another antibotic (sp?) for the next 6 weeks to see what happens and depending how he does on this med he might do a MRI of the Sinus and may need to operate At the same moment, both Colin and I said NOOOOO NOPE NOOOO way to any surgery OMG after what we all went thru last summer with the tonsils being removed OMG was a true night mare for over 2 weeks Colin and I said NOPE must be life and death before we put our precious son thru any other operation

One thing I was not happy to hear, is our ENT has always said from all his experience, and he has worked with many that have DS. He has always told me Chris will outgrow this sinus stuff. Well he is now 11 and not outgrowing it and even the ENT said Hmmmm by now he should have outgrown it

Anywho, just wondering if anyone here has had such surgery done??

Thanks in advance for any info you could share.

CC

[AnnieC]

CC

Sorry to hear that Chris is still getting those dang sinus infections. Raven has trouble with this as well, but she has been taking Zyrtec off & on for allergies & it seems to be helping. Do you think maybe it is partly allergy related? You've probably already exhausted this measure, but just in case, I thought I would mention it.

As for sinus surgery, I believe my brother in law had some type of sinus surgery, but I think there are several different types. I've heard, not researched, that they aren't very helpful & extremely painful. But, that IS just heresay.

Hope Chris is feeling better soon!! Stuffy noses are the worst.

btw....thanks for your kind words on my other post!! It really means a lot

[PaigesMom]

CC -

A good friend of mine had laser sinus surgery to remove nasal polups (sp), and just left over gunk from years and years of sinus infections. The surgery was painful, but successful for a short period of time - maybe a year, and then she had to have it done again. That was about 5 years ago and she's been fine ever since. A major decrease in sinus infections since then.

My brother in law also had this done about 10 years ago and it was successful for him as well up until recently when he has started with constant/recurrent sinus infections. It was painful - bad headaches, sinus pain and pressure from swelling - for about a week. He swears it was the best thing he ever had done and is contemplating doing it again.

The success is probably per individual and totally related to the type of sinus issues they are having.

Good luck!

Debbie

[alisonzmom]

CC

I had major sinus surgery about 5 years ago and I have to tell you it was the best decision I have made in a long, long time! Before having it done, I was getting sinus infections, bronchitis, and/or strep about one a month! I think I had been given virtually every antibiotic known to modern medicine and was still never able to really knock the infections out! Finally my PCP wrote me a referral to an ENT after being on 4 different antibiotics and just getting sicker and sicker! The ENT had me get an MRI of the sinuses which showed major chronic sinusitis that had resulted in thinning of the bones of the sinus cavities especially the maxillary sinuses ( the ones behind your cheekbones), large cysts and polyps in the sinuses and nasal cavities. The surgery took about 3 1/2 hrs and he removed all of the polyps, a cyst in one of the maxillary sinuses, and fixed my deviated septum ( I must have been born with it cuz best as I can remember I never broke my nose!) - an extensive roto-rooter job as he called it! I will say that the first day or so was pretty painful, mostly because he was not able to do all of the surgery through my nose but had to go in through the inside of my upper lip. The only problem that I had was later that night when I was given a couple of tylenol with codeine and proceeded to have a big time allergic reaction to the codeine! Can you say major hives, shortness of breath, itching!!! It was the first and only time I've ever taken anything with codeine! Since having the surgery I've only had one sinus infection and no strep throats! Since then the ENT has also had me taking Allegra & Singulair for allergies that he felt really contributed to the mess in my sinuses.
Obviously, only you and Colin can decide on whether or not this might be worth trying if it can help Chris but I thought I would share my own experiences with you.

Good luck with this new antibiotic, I really hope it does the trick for Chris, poor guy has been through enough with this already!

Barb

[wrblack]

Nope. Don't know nuttin, curiously this often fails to keep me quiet on any number of subjects. There's an interesting article at
www.aafp.org/afp/980901ap/slack.html
Looks to be a few years old, so there may be newer, better info about minimally invasive procedures. Might be worth looking into. There's also a brief description of endoscopic sinus surgery on CHOP's web site, www.chop.edu/consumer/your_child/condition_section_index.jsp?id=-8145
Doesn't sound very pleasant.
My Charlie hasn't even had a T&A yet. But we did strike up an acquaintance with an ENT doctor at CHOP just to be ready.
Sorry to read that Chris has been having such a time with sinus problems. And hope you find a good answer soon.
Bob, dad to Charlie (w/ Ds home.earthlink.net/~wrblack/ ) and Robert (w/out Ds home.earthlink.net/~wrblack/robertsphotoalbum/ )

[Robin]

First.....ROFL to BOB, curiously it fails to keep me quiet also, LOLOLOL!!!!
CC..I know nothing on the subject but I do know two people who have had the operation, both non DS and they swore they would never have it again. I am with you, poor sweet Chris had such a terible time last time I would be terrified to try another surgery unless it was life or death!!!!!hugs, Robin

[updowns]

Christie, don't know anything bout sinus surgery but it doesn't sound nice

K I know I mentioned this to you already, but have you considered allergy, in particular dairy allergy or intolerance. Something in cows milk makes the mucous thicker.

Sarah is on a dairy free diet for the last two years (it was suggested by our Ped who was treating her for a chronic kidney infection) and lo and behold - no more runny nose! Up to this Sarah has a constant runny nose, winter-long cold and sinus problems (tho not as bad as Chris).

It's worth a try!

Stella

[Connie]

Christie,

Collin just went yesterday to see a Pulmonologist and one of the tests he ordered was a CAT scan of his sinuses. Since Collin had his T&A his sinus infections have been better but he still gets them.

I will let you know what this doctor says and recommends.

Connie