Otolaryngology- Image-guided Functional Endoscopic Sinus Surgery(FESS). FESS more safely and effectively offers relief for patients with chronic inflammation of the sinuses (chronic sinusitis). The goal of the surgery is to open the natural sinus drainage pathways while preserving as much of the normal anatomy as possible.
For many patients with chronic inflammatory sinusitis, endoscopic sinus surgery has brought great relief, although the close proximity of major nerves, blood vessels and the brain means that surgeons must be especially cautious and conservative.
In a live internet broadcast in April, a surgeon at Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Center will perform endoscopic sinus surgery using sophisticated image-guidance technology, which has significantly improved the safety and effectiveness of the procedure. The technology uses computer imaging to guide the surgical instruments around vital structures, such as orbital tissues, the optic nerve, the internal carotid artery, and the skull base – any of which can be a scant millimeter away.
Brian L. Matthews, M.D., associate professor of surgery-otolaryngology and of pediatrics at Wake Forest Baptist, will perform the procedure, known as functional endoscopic sinus surgery (FESS), in a live internet broadcast at noon on Friday, April 8. Matthews has been performing the image-guided procedures for more than six years.
For patients with chronic sinusitis, meaning chronic inflammation within the sinuses, "Surgery in combination with appropriate medical treatment to control this inflammatory reaction is usually beneficial for these patients," Matthews said. FESS is used to clear polyps from the sinuses, and the surgery is followed by systemic steroid therapies.
Join Brian Matthews, M.D. associate professor of otolaryngology, Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Center in a live webcast at 12 Noon (1600 UTC).