Dallas City Wire

• 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.

Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida recently underwent sinus surgery in Tokyo to treat chronic sinusitis, which he had previously been managing with medication.

Dr. Monty Trimble of Dallas Breathe Free Sinus & Allergy Centers says balloon sinuplasty is a quick, painless, minimally invasive procedure, especially compared to older sinus surgeries, and it helps return the sinuses to their normal function. 

"I'm very excited about balloon sinuplasty, balloon dilation," Trimble told Dallas City Wire. "I always tell people that I went to a conference -- I think this was back in 2005 in San Francisco -- and at the very end, they were talking about balloon dilation. I remember thinking, 'Wow, if you could eventually do this in the office, this would be a game-changer, because you could take what we've been doing in the operating room for years, you can move it to a less-invasive, easier environment.' Sure enough, in 2011, we were doing this procedure in the office, and we were probably one of the earlier offices that started doing it, in April of 2011."

According to AP News, Kishida had suffered from sinusitis symptoms for the past year, which he had been treating with medication. However, he decided to have the surgery “in order to be in perfect health.” Throughout the last 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, often causing 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 a 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," since 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.

On the other hand, 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 Center. Still, Trimble said, the minimally invasive procedure is an ideal treatment.

"Technique-wise, I felt we were already on the road to less-invasive treatment by not removing things that did not need to be removed, being more careful to preserve normal tissue," Trimble said. "Now we are able to go in and simply enlarge the openings of your sinuses, improving sinus function and drainage. We can also improve breathing with very minimally invasive techniques, trying to limit the amount of surgery we do. The goal is to get maximum benefit with minimal downside, in terms of invasiveness."

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