I have been trying to get rid of a very abnormal sinus infection for over two years now. I have very good sinuses that drain all the time, so it has made it even harder to pinpoint the problem and come up with a solution. I have finally found out by getting a bone scan with cipro as a tracer that the infection is in the bone, and according to an oral surgeon who explained some things to me, an infection from the upper jaw either moves up into the sinuses or down into the gums, whichever is the path of least resistance. Anyway, now that I have a good idea of the cause of my chronic pain, low grade fever, etc., I have not been able to find someone who is willing to do the surgery. I guess it is a very odd situation, but I have been told by quite a few doctors, and found out online, and here on this health board that I will only get well if they do surgery on the upper jawbone and follow up with aggressive IV antibiotics. My teeth are not loose, my gums are not unhealthy, and so it makes an oral surgeon not see the need to operate. Since my sinuses drain well, the infection has not been too obvious to ENT doctors either, but it has reduced my quality of life to 50 percent of what it was. I have been on and off of antibiotics for years, and improved greatly with some of them, especially vanco, but the infection never went away and the symptoms never went away, only improved, then worsened when I got off of them. This cycle is all explained pretty well now by the fact that the infection is in the bone.

It turns out, as I now know from experience, infection in the bone causes some of the worse pain, and even more so if it is in your head.

Has anyone had a successful surgery to heal this kind of infection?

I would appreciate any suggestions.



Thanks.
Beth

Just FYI, I live in Bolivia, South America, and there are very good doctors in the city I live in. I am able to go to the states, and have done so twice, but they did not find the infection there--they found it here with a bone scan using cipro.