Nose Blocked Since Last Winter? When Sinus Surgery (FESS) Helps and When It Doesn’t
Every October, as Delhi’s air turns grey, a familiar story walks into my clinic in Vasant Vihar. The nose has been blocked since last winter. Sprays, steam and a few courses of antibiotics later, it still hasn’t cleared, and the question finally comes: do I need an operation? Sometimes the answer is yes, and the operation is usually FESS, short for functional endoscopic sinus surgery. Often the answer is no. Here is how an ENT tells the difference, what the surgery involves, and what to try before it comes to that. Is it really sinusitis? A nose that stays blocked for months is not always sinusitis. The usual causes are a deviated septum (the wall between the nostrils is bent), swollen turbinates, allergic rhinitis, nasal polyps, or a mix of these. They can feel the same but are treated very differently. Doctors call it chronic rhinosinusitis when symptoms last 12 weeks or more. That means a blocked or running nose, often with facial pressure or a weaker sense of smell, plus chan...
