A CT scan uses X-rays to create detailed two and three-dimensional images of internal anatomy. Your provider might suggest a sinus CT scan to diagnose issues in the sinuses or nasal cavity causing your symptoms.

Our CT scanner delivers radiation doses 10 times lower than hospital scans. Additionally, our in-office scanner is upright, offering more comfort for patients with mobility issues, chronic back pain, or breathing difficulties when lying flat.

Imaging may be covered by your office copay, making it more affordable. Thus, having your sinuses scanned in our office is convenient, efficient, and safer due to reduced radiation exposure.

Balloon sinuplasty is a convenient in-office procedure that takes less than an hour to complete. A small, flexible balloon catheter is placed into the nasal passages and sinus cavities to relieve both sinus pressure and pain. 96% of patients experience positive results with decreased rates of sinus infection, sinus headaches, and nasal congestion. Because it is minimally invasive, recovery time is short.

If you regularly experience difficulty breathing through your nose and nothing seems to help, you may have nasal obstruction. Until now, finding a long-term solution often meant surgery. Now, your physician may be able to offer you lasting relief by performing a non-invasive VivAer treatment to open your nasal airway.

If you experience a persistently runny nose, post-nasal drainage, nasal congestion, itching and sneezing, you may be one of the millions of people living with chronic rhinitis. Until now, treatment often meant managing symptoms with medications and sprays. For many patients, these symptoms may be caused by abnormal signals in the nose. At Clear Lake Medical Center ENT, our physicians can offer you RhinAer to disrupt these signals and provide lasting relief. Patients typically return to normal activity on the same day.

Image guidance uses a patient’s CT images to guide surgical instruments during sinus surgery, significantly improving safety and reducing the risk of damaging the brain, eye, nerves, and blood vessels.

This technology is now available in the office at Clear Lake Medical Center ENT, offering a safe and often financially advantageous option for treating sinus disease and nasal polyps. Image guidance can be applied to balloon sinuplasty, functional endoscopic sinus surgery, and nasal polypectomy. We also offer in-office anesthesia to enhance patient comfort and experience. We are excited to provide this advanced, convenient treatment option to our patients.

Turbinates are structures in the nasal cavity that humidify and clear the air before it enters the lungs. Inferior turbinate hypertrophy occurs when these structures are persistently swollen and obstructed.

At Clear Lake Medical Center ENT, we use radiofrequency technology to treat inferior turbinate hypertrophy in an office setting, providing clearer nasal breathing in under an hour. The procedure involves using nasal endoscopes for visualization and injecting local anesthesia into the inferior turbinate tissue. Radiofrequency is then applied to the underlying tissues, causing immediate contraction and opening the nasal passages. Sedation and general anesthesia are available upon request to enhance patient comfort during the procedure.

Drug-eluting stents are a new technology that uses a dissolvable device to release steroids to sinus tissues over 30 days. Steroids prevent scar formation and narrowing of sinus drainage tracts during healing and help prevent nasal polyps’ recurrence.

These stents can be placed in the office if early nasal polyps recur after sinus surgery. They can be removed after a week or left to dissolve over 4 to 6 weeks. Drug-eluting stents are ideal for patients who are not good candidates for nasal polypectomy, cannot tolerate oral steroids, or have poorly controlled diabetes. Placement is easily tolerated with topical and local anesthesia.

To optimize your comfort and experience, we offer anesthesia in conjunction with our office based procedures for individuals who qualify. Insurance may cover in-office anesthesia fees if the procedure meets criteria for medical necessity.

Anesthesia is also offered at self-pay rates and for cosmetic surgery performed in the office. Please ask your provider for more information should you be interested in this service.