gcsjr

I wish I could give you a simple answer. I've had multiple surgeries and the results have been mixed. The first surgery to remove polyps and reduce turbinates was successful for about 5 years (though it didn't take anywhere near 8 months for things to return to normal).

Unfortunately, polyps have a tendency to recur and I had to have a second procedure to remove them 5 years later which was a disaster, and a year later had to have another procedure (and have had 2 more since then that have been very successful).

Based on my experience (and lots of long conversations with two world-renowned sinus surgeons who specialize in recurrent sinusitis and revision surgery), the two most critical factors for success are the surgeon's experience and the follow up regimen.

The truth is that most office-based ENTs don't perform enough sinus surgery to truly be experts at the procedures. Many remove too much tissue (which can cause problems) or fail to create drainage pathways for mucus (which can lead to mucus recirculation), so please be sure that your surgeon really knows what he/she is doing.

The follow up routine is also critical. Your doc should be planning 3-4 follow up visits in the weeks after surgery to remove crusts (scabs) that can lead to scarring. These are not pleasant visits but they are absolutely critical to the success of sinus surgery. If your doc isn't planning on this type of follow up, please find another doctor now.

Finally, polyps are tricky because they almost always recur. It will be critical to the long-term success of the procedure for you to work with an allergist/immunologist to keep the polyps at bay using allergy shots, Singulair (which tends to reduce the inflammation that leads to polyp formation), steroid nasal sprays and saline irrigation (a SinusRinse bottle works much better than a neti pot so you might give that a try).

Best of luck with the surgery itself - please update us on how it goes.