(414) 727-0910

Sinus Care Institute

201 N Mayfair Rd Suite 505, Wauwatosa WI 53226

For an appt call  414.727.1822  or  fax referral  414.727.0920

Focusing on nasal and sinus care, The Sinus Care Institute offers a broad range of solutions to your sinus problems.  We are board -certified ear, nose & throat physicians dedicated to diagnosing and treating patients with breathing difficulties, sinus headaches, allergies, chronic sinusitis, nasal congestion, and other sino-nasal problems.

Since there are many different causes of sinus symptoms, it is important to receive comprehensive treatment that addresses your specific underlying problem.  At the Sinus Care Institute, we offer a multidisciplinary approach to sinus and nasal problems.  Our team of professionals includes specialists in Neurology, Allergy and Otolaryngology (ENT).

Our single most important goal at The Sinus Care Institute is to relieve your sinus suffering.  Because our doctors focus on nasal and sinus disorders, we are able to utilize multiple modalities to alleviate your symptoms. We utilize the latest technology and treatment options available to treat sinus and nasal disease, including:  functional endoscopic sinus surgery (FESS), Balloon Sinuplasty, stereotactic image guidance, immunotherapy, septoplasty and turbinate reduction procedures.

With a long history of nasal and sinus care in southeastern Wisconsin, we have pioneered and refined many innovative techniques and have helped thousands of patients end their nasal and sinus suffering.  We are the first Sinus Center of Excellence in Wisconsin dedicated to the treatment of sinus disease utilizing a coordinated multidisciplinary approach.  Each patient we treat is evaluated by our team of professionals and a unique customized plan of treatment is developed to address each patient's symptoms and specific sinus or nasal problem. 

We work with each patient to ensure that they always know what to expect -- and understand each option available to them.  In most cases, we attempt to treat patients non-surgically.  For those who fail medical therapy, however, our surgeons are known for their skills in balloon sinuplasty, endoscopic sinus surgery, septoplasty, and turbinoplasty.  Prior to surgery, every patient's case will be reviewed by our sinus board of professionals to ensure that the most appropriate surgical option and technique is utilized.

At the Sinus Care Institute, we are committed to educating our patients and other healthcare professionals.  We offer opportunities for other professionals to learn from our experience by being involved with the institute or sharing their complex patient cases with the sinus board.

If you suffer from sinus or nasal problems, let our specialized team help you develop a customized plan of treatment. Our offices are conveniently located in Wauwatosa, Waukesha, Delafield, Oconomowoc, and Watertown Wisconsin.

Sinus Treatment Options

Functional endoscopic sinus surgery (FESS) is a minimally invasive technique used to restore sinus ventilation and normal function.  The most suitable candidates for this procedure have recurrent acute or chronic infective sinusitis.  Fiber optic telescopes are used for diagnosis and during the procedure, and computed tomography is used to assess the anatomy and identify diseased areas.  Functional endoscopic sinus surgery should be reserved for use in patients in whom medical treatment has failed.  The procedure can be performed under general or local anesthesia on an outpatient basis, and patients usually experience minimal discomfort.

The reasoning and concepts supporting the use of FESS are widely accepted.  (The term "functional" was introduced to distinguish this type of endoscopic surgery from non-endoscopic, "conventional" procedures.) The goal of FESS is to return the mucociliary drainage of the sinuses to normal function.  The paranasal sinuses are maintained in a healthy state by ventilation through the individual ostia and by a mucociliary transport mechanism that keeps a continuous protective layer of mucus flowing out of the sinuses.

Stereostactic sinus surgery, also called image guidance, utilizes preoperative computed tomography (CT) images that are converted to three-dimensional (3D) digital maps of a patient's anatomy and the sinuses that require surgery, this allows the surgeon to correlate the real-time operative findings with structures.  The system then tracks the actual movements of the surgical instruments and displays these movements in relationship to the converted 3D images of the patients anatomy.  This allows more precise, complete, and safe sinus surgery.

Immunotherapy is commonly used to treat allergies and underlying causes of sinus disease.  The ENT physician and Allergist are uniquely qualified to perform comprehensive medical and surgical management for patients with complex disease processes involving a component of allergy. We believe that an integrated approach to allergy within a comprehensive sinus program optimizes the treatment of such patients.  Allergy testing can be accomplished by skin or blood allergy testing.  If indicated, some patients may be treated with immunotherapy.  Allergy shots, also called immunotherapy,are given to increase a patient's tolerance to the substances that provoke allergy symptoms.  They are usually recommended for patients who suffer from severe allergies or for those who have allergy symptoms more than 3 months each year.

Septoplasty and turbinate reduction procedures are frequently used to correct anatomic issues that cause nasal obstruction.  The nasal septum is the partition that divides one side of the nose from the other.  It is rarely perfectly straight--it is slightly crooked in over 80% of people.  When the septum is so crooked or deviated that it blocks the nasal passage, then a surgical operation called a septoplasty may restore clear breathing.

If your nose is congested on one side during part of the day and later congested on the other side, then it is not just the septum that is causing the nasal obstruction.  In this instance, an abnormal turbinate--a structure that projects from the lateral wall of the nose into the nasal cavity--may be the cause. Usually medical treatment (such as a nasal steroid spray) is recommended before considering surgery. If the medical treatments fail to bring relief, then your doctor may also recommend a procedure known as a trubinate reduction.  Turbinate reductions can be done in the office or in the operating room.  A septoplasty may be combined with a turbinate reduction so the normal nasal airway can be restored.