Image-Guided Sinus Procedures Now Performed at Brookings Health System

  • December 09, 2019
Head, Neck and Throat Surgeon Dr. Jonathan Mellema of Avera Medical Group uses the recently acquired ENT surgical platform and navigation system to see the inside of a patient’s nasal cavity while performing image-guided sinus surgery at Brookings Hospital. Brookings Health System invested in the new surgical technology to expand the ENT service line and help local patients who live with chronic sinus infections find relief close to home.
Head, Neck and Throat Surgeon Dr. Jonathan Mellema of Avera Medical Group uses the recently acquired ENT surgical platform and navigation system to see the inside of a patient’s nasal cavity while performing image-guided sinus surgery at Brookings Hospital. Brookings Health System invested in the new surgical technology to expand the ENT service line and help local patients who live with chronic sinus infections find relief close to home.

Brookings Health System’s surgery team is now performing minimally invasive image-guided sinus surgery using the newly acquired Ear, Nose and Throat (ENT) surgical platform and navigation system.

Each year about 35 million Americans develop chronic sinus infections, also known as sinusitis, making it one of the most common health conditions. Brookings Health invested in the new surgical technology to expand the ENT service line and help local patients who live with chronic sinusitis find relief close to home.

“Image guidance is the standard of care for ENT procedures,” said OR Director Candace Johnson. “To avoid scars, sinus procedures are typically performed through the patient’s nasal cavity, a very fragile area. The ENT surgical platform increases sinus procedure accuracy and safety which results in shorter recovery, less pain and better outcomes for patients.”

The surgical platform creates 3D images using pre-operative CT scans of the patient’s sinus cavities. At the beginning of surgery, the surgeon scans a patient’s head to match it up with the CT scan. An electromagnetic field is then established around the patient’s head so the surgeon can guide and track instruments in real-time via the 3D images. Using a magnifying endoscope, an illuminated tubular instrument the size of a pencil, the ENT surgeon removes the affected tissue and bone.

The goal of image-guided sinus surgery is to flush out infected material, open up blocked passages and keep enough healthy tissue so that a patient’s nose and sinuses can function normally. The surgery resolves most patients’ symptoms, such as nasal congestion, facial pressure and sinus headaches. In addition, most patients experience significantly fewer sinus infections.

The recent additions of Otolaryngologists Dr. Jonathan Mellema of Avera Medical Group and Dr. Thomas Tamura of Midwest ENT have significantly expanded access to ENT services at Brookings Health. Area patients may receive diagnosis, treatment, medical and surgical services for conditions affecting the head, neck, sinuses, ears, nose and throat close to home. More information can be found online at brookingshealth.org/ENT.

About Brookings Health System

Brookings Health System, located in Brookings, South Dakota, includes a 49-bed hospital, the 79-bed The Neighborhoods at Brookview nursing home, Brookhaven Estates senior living apartments, Yorkshire Eye Clinic, and medical clinics in Arlington, White and Volga, South Dakota. It is a non-profit, city-owned facility that offers the community a full range of inpatient, outpatient, emergency and extended care services. Brookings Hospital provides local access to doctors in Brookings and offers robotic da Vinci surgery and Mako robotic-arm assisted procedures, making it one of the premier rural community hospitals in South Dakota. For more information about the services offered at Brookings Health System, please call (605) 696-9000 or visit us on the Web at brookingshealth.org.