fessor of otolaryngology at Yale School of Medicine in New Haven,
Conn.
The procedure is said to lead to quicker recoveries and shorter sur-
gical times than the traditional surgery for this condition, during
which grafts must be harvested and additional incisions made.
4. Cryotherapy for rhinitis
Patients with perpetually runny noses often run out of patience when
looking for a cure. "We don't have a lot of good treatment options for
them," says Dr. Manes. "We can give them nasal sprays, which some-
times work and sometimes don't."
Enter cryotherapy, something of an older technology that's been
modified for use in the nose. Surgeons apply cryotherapy to the poste-
rior nasal nerves, which often provide the stimulus that causes con-
stant nasal drip, and freeze them. Dr. Manes says the procedure can
be done "fairly quickly" in an OR or even an office setting with mini-
mal instrumentation. He also says the procedure is "very well tolerat-
ed," with the main complaint from patients being that they get some-
thing of an ice cream headache.
5. Sleep apnea innovations
New surgical techniques are emerging for the growing problem of sleep
apnea. Robson Capasso, MD, chief of sleep surgery at Stanford Health
Care in Redwood City, Calif., says hypoglossal nerve stimulation (HGNS)
involves implanting and activating a pacemaker-like device in the patient.
Unlike soft tissue and skeletal surgery treatments, both of which cannot
be reversed, the implant can easily be removed.
The risks of HGNS, says Dr. Capasso, are small. It leaves 3 scars —
one below the right side of the jaw, one in the chest and one on the
right side of the ribcage. Most patients feel a mild degree of discom-
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