Trafford medic carries out pioneering treatment (From Messenger Newspapers)

Trafford medic carries out pioneering treatment

2:00pm Tuesday 15th December 2009

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A SURGEON from Trafford General Hospital has become the first in Greater Manchester to use a tiny balloon to treat chronic sinusitis.

Consultant Atef El-Kholy is performing balloon-assisted sinuplasty to treat a condition that causes discomfort and distress to many thousands of people.

The technique uses a tiny balloon to gently widen and reshape the sinuses, relieving the symptoms of sinusitis without the need for painful surgery to cut away pieces of bone or cartilage inside the nose.

Chronic sinusitis is a persistent inflammation of the sinuses, often caused by recurrent infections.

Patients who have balloon-assisted sinuplasty can leave hospital the same day, recover within 24 hours and, because it is non-surgical, experience no bleeding or scarring.

The procedure has been carried out in the United States for around four years now, but is still very new in the UK and Mr El-Kholy is the only surgeon in Greater Manchester currently offering the treatment.

Mr El-Kholy said: “Conventional surgical sinuplasty can take up to two hours and patients may need two weeks to recover, depending on the extent of surgery.

"In contrast, balloon-assisted sinuplasty causes no bleeding and very little pain and some patients can recover and return for work within 48 hours. It uses exactly the same principles as conventional surgery but with a balloon instead of metallic instruments.

"Around 200,000 cases have been done worldwide, but very few in the UK so far so it is really exciting that we can now offer this treatment at Trafford General Hospital.”

Patient Lynda Eastham, who had the procedure at Trafford General in September, said: “When I woke up afterwards, I didn’t feel like I’d had anything done and my symptoms are much better than before.”

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