Image Guided Sinus Surgery
As I mentioned in my initial post, technology is something I enjoy immensely, and it is one of the things that led me to rhinology. The entire field of rhinology is largely based off of technological advancements. We can now use endoscopes to see clearly and operate more precisely within the difficult to access aspects of the nasal and sinus cavities. One of the most useful and interesting tools that we use during sinus surgery is the navigation system or image guidance system. Think of it like a GPS used to navigate your sinus cavities.
Endoscopic sinus surgery is a procedure where a rigid endoscope is inserted into your nose to provide a magnified view of the inside of your nasal cavity. Special instruments are then used to carefully open your sinuses. This is most commonly performed to treat chronic sinusitis or chronic sinus disease. In many cases, an image guidance system will be used during surgery. This is a tool that can make endoscopic sinus surgery safer if it is used properly. Before the surgery, you may need a specialized CT scan that is performed with certain parameters to ensure that it can be used with the navigation system. When surgery begins, a simple registration process is performed to link your actual sinus cavity to the sinus cavity seen on your CT scan. The navigation platform then allows us to perform surgery under image guidance - this is called imaged guided surgery or image guided sinus surgery. What that means is that during sinus surgery, various instruments can be tracked and their location within your sinuses can be correlated with where they are seen on your CT scan in real time. This can allow us to confirm the location of critical structures such as the optic nerve or carotid artery. It can also confirm that we have address all the affected areas that we intended to when reviewing your CT scan preoperatively. Essentially, this tool can help make surgery safer, and it can help make sure that a complete job is done.
Fortunately, a lot of research has gone into developing navigation systems and tools. There are a variety of different platforms from different companies. Acclarent, a Johnson & Johnson subsidiary, has recently released the TruDi™ Navigation System. Stryker has expanded the Scopis TGS® platform. Medtronic has updated their Fusion system to the StealthStation™ S8 system. The systems keep advancing, and the tools keep coming. That is great news for sinus surgery, because the better tools we have - the better job we can do to address your sinus problems.
