According to the National Commission on Sleep Disorders Research, approximately 38,000 deaths occur on an annual basis that relate to cardiovascular problems that in one way or another are connected to sleep apnea. These problems include high blood pressure, hypertension and stroke, among others. An estimated six million American residents suffer from sleep apnea that is moderate to severe and may necessitate a late night visit to the e=emergency room. Unfortunately a great many people do not, as previously mentioned, even realize that they suffer from sleep apnea. This number is somewhere around 500,000 individuals.

Sinusitis means your sinuses are infected or inflamed. Your sinuses are hollow air spaces within the bones surrounding the nose. They produce mucus, which drains into the nose. If your nose is swollen, this can block the sinuses and cause pain and infection.

Sinusitis can be acute, lasting for less than four weeks, or chronic, lasting much longer. Acute sinusitis often starts as a cold, which then turns into a bacterial infection. Allergies, pollutants, nasal problems and certain diseases can also cause sinusitis.

Symptoms of sinusitis can include fever, weakness, fatigue, cough and congestion. There may also be mucus drainage in the back of the throat, called postnasal drip. Treatments include antibiotics, decongestants and pain relievers. Using heat pads on the inflamed area, saline nasal sprays and vaporizers can also help.

Approximately 20 percent of all Americans are sinus sufferers or get a sinus infection. People often adapt to living with sinus problems. They forget what it was like to breath freely or live without congestion and sinus pain. Many people believe that they have no choice.

Many sinus sufferers confuse cold symptoms, such as a runny nose, and itchy, watery eyes, with what, in fact, may be a serious sinus condition, a sinus infection, or sinus allergies, or a combination.

What is a sinus infection? Sinus infection also known as sinusitis is an inflammation of the sinuses and nasal passages. A sinus infection can cause a severe headaches or pressure in the eyes, nose and cheek area (Often people believe they have a migraine or tooth infection.) A person with a sinus infection may also have a cough, a fever and nasal congestion with thick nasal secretions.

What causes a Sinus infection? There are many factors that can cause a sinus infection including bacteria such as Streptococcus pneumoniae, Haemophilus influenzae, and Moraxella catarrhalis., a viral infection which can cause damage to cell of the sinus linings, pollutants and fungi.

Common Symptoms: Common Symptoms of a sinus infection include nasal congestion with discharge or postnasal drip (mucus drips down the throat behind the nose), Pain or pressure around the inner corner of the eye or down one side of the nose, Headache in the temple or surrounding the eye, Pain or pressure symptoms worse when coughing, straining, or lying on the back and better when the head is upright and Fever.

Balloon sinus dilation is a new, minimally invasive office procedure that reopens the sinus pathways and restores drainage to deliver immediate and long lasting relief to recurrent and chronic sinusitis sufferers. In balloon sinus dilation, the ear, nose and throat specialist seeks to reshape anatomy by inflating small balloons in key places in the nose and sinus to expand sinus pathways and restore drainage. Poor sinus drainage, which leads to infection and discomfort, is the source of persistent or recurring sinus pain. Antibiotics, decongestants, and steroids can be used to minimize the discomfort of symptoms, but they do not fix the underlying drainage problem. By restoring sinus drainage, balloon sinus dilation can provide lasting sinus relief to qualified patients, and the sinusitis cycle.

More than 400,000 tonsillectomies are performed yearly in the United States making it one of the most commonly performed operations. This surgery historically has been performed with a diagnosis of chronic infections (defined as three months of tonsil inflammation), recurrent acute episodes of tonsillitis, and a history of peritonsillar abscess (PTA). In the last decade, a diagnosis of enlarged tonsils, with or without obstructive sleep apnea, has often resulted in removal of the tonsils.

Conventional tonsillectomy using cold knife, electrocautery, or coblation has well-known risks and complications. These conventional tonsillectomy techniques have changed little over the last fifty years, all result in prolonged postoperative pain and have significant morbidity. Consequently, a number of new modalities have been introduced recently in an effort to decrease morbidity and improve on this prolonged postoperative recovery.

RF treatment for enlarged tonsils and shrinkage of other oropharyngeal tissues is now being performed with some regularity. The basic principles of RF differ from conventional excisional surgical techniques in that tissues are reduced in size by delivering low temperature (60-85⁰C) energy to dissociate tissue bonds resulting in resorption of tissue over an 8 to 12 week period. The primary advantage is that there is less postoperative pain due to the absence of an open wound requiring mucosalization for complete healing. More importantly, there is the potential to decrease the risk of post-tonsillectomy hemorrhage and dehydration, and the amount of recovery time needed before returning to work or school.