What is nasal endoscopic surgery?
As its name suggests, it is surgery performed inside the nose using an endoscope, an instrument with a light that allows us to work inside the nostrils and the cavities surrounding them (paranasal sinuses). It also allows us to work on the orbit and the tear ducts. With the collaboration of the neurosurgeon, we can even treat the pituitary gland and all pathologies and tumors that are in contact with the so-called skull base, i.e. near the nostrils.
The advantages of endoscopic nasal surgery are that we work through a natural cavity, so we do not need to make any kind of incision as it happened before when incisions were made on the side of the nose, under the lip or even above the skull having to lift the entire cranial cavity to access this area. The most logical thing is to be able to access from the nostril itself to the pathology that appears in this area.
What pathologies can be treated with this type of surgery?
All types of pathologies can be treated, from small septal deviations to sinusitis, polyposis, benign tumors, very delimited malignant tumors, pathologies of the tear ducts, pathology of the orbit such as orbital decompressions or or orbital tumors. With the help of the neurosurgeon it is possible to operate on pituitary tumors, skull base tumors coming from the brain such as meningiomas, meningoceles, and also cerebrospinal fluid fistulas, chordomas, among others.
What type of anesthesia will be used?
It is customary to use general anesthesia, since there are only some pathologies and surgeries in which local anesthesia is used, such as laser surgery of the tear ducts and some very limited pathology in the sinuses.
What is the postoperative period like for patients?
Most patients are surprised at how little discomfort the post-operative period is. To begin with, they do not stay more than one night and they can even leave the same day in some types of surgery and in cases of skull base tumors. The ones we do in collaboration with the neurosurgeon, we have reduced the stay from practically 10 or 15 days to 2, 3 or 4 days at most in the clinic.