South Palm Beach Today

• The prime minister of Japan underwent sinus surgery on a Saturday and returned to work on Monday.
• He said the procedure went "smoothly" and thanked everyone for their "concerns and encouragement."
• A local doctor said that innovation has made sinus surgery faster and less invasive.

Fumio Kishida, the prime minister of Japan, recently underwent sinus surgery in Tokyo to treat chronic sinusitis, which he had previously been managing with medication.

Dr. Cody Aull of West Palm Beach Breathe Free Sinus & Allergy Centers says balloon sinuplasty is a quick, painless, minimally invasive procedure, compared to older sinus surgeries, and it helps return the sinuses to their normal function.

"While we've got all these things to diagnose the problem, it’s not good if we’re able to diagnose the problem but not fix it," Aull told South Palm Beach Today. "Traditionally, the things that we had to fix, some of these sinus problems, were a little more aggressive. Sometimes, unfortunately, because of the tools we had available, we had to kill it with a sledgehammer. People who had minimal sinus disease didn't want to go through that. I don't blame them; I wouldn't either. It was more than what they needed, so they ended up suffering in silence for years." 

According to AP News, Kishida had suffered from sinusitis symptoms for the past year, which he had treated with medication. However, he decided to have the surgery “in order to be in perfect health.” Throughout the past year, local media had sometimes commented on Kishida's stuffy nose and congestion. He had the procedure done on a Saturday and said he planned to return to work the following Monday.

“The surgery went smoothly, and I have returned to my official residence,” Kishida said, according to AP News. “Thank you very much, everyone, for your concerns and encouragement.” 

Chronic sinusitis is one of the most common chronic medical conditions among Americans, having a negative effect on a person's quality of life, according to the National Center for Biotechnology Information (NCBI). NCBI conducted a study comparing patients who underwent functional endoscopic sinus surgery (FESS) with patients who opted for balloon sinuplasty and found that, although both procedures are effective, balloon sinuplasty patients needed fewer antibiotic treatments after having the procedure.

FESS involves removing sinus tissue, while balloon sinuplasties are "less traumatic" because they don't include removing any tissue and instead rely on dilation to improve sinus function. FESS procedures typically take 90 minutes to two hours, and patients might need up to four weeks to recover, during which time they should avoid strenuous activities such as exercise.

"There are so many minimally invasive options," Aull said. "The nice thing about sinus surgery is that we have a natural opening right there. We just need small enough instruments to get through it, and we’ve got those. Now, with the advent of technology and small cameras, I can sit there and watch what I'm doing on a massive TV. We can do procedures easily, just a little topical anesthesia; people are relaxed. We talk throughout the entire thing. It allows us to do a lot of things minimally. We can use the functional holes that are there and augment them with balloon sinuplasty." 

A balloon sinuplasty procedure lasts 10 to 15 minutes, and patients typically recover within one to two days. Most patients can resume their normal activities during that time, although they may experience some swelling for up to a week, according to Eisemann Plastic Surgery Centers. Still, Aull said, the minimally invasive nature of the procedure leads to quicker healing.

"That's one of the big tools that we use that has been around in medicine for years," Aull said. "Now we're getting it into ear, nose and throat. What it can do for everything is huge. But there's more than just that. There are still things that we did traditionally that we can now do with minimal invasiveness. You're not going to feel much because we start with topicals and we just inject a little. We take our time; we're in no hurry. You're relaxed, and we get it done. There’s a lot of things that can be done like that." 

If you're interested in learning more about the symptoms of sinusitis and allergies, take this Sinus Self-Assessment Quiz.