Nasal Polyps
Nasal polyps are soft, painless, non-cancerous growths located inside the nose and sinuses. They have a whitish or grayish-white appearance and result from chronic inflammation that may be due to asthma, repeated infection, allergies, drug sensitivity or certain immune disorders. They usually occur on both sides of the nose, not excluding the presence of a large unilateral polyp (chanopolypoid). They can occur at any age with their most frequent discovery in the second to fourth decade of life.
Symptoms
Nasal polyps lack nerve and blood supply, so they do not hurt, but they are usually noticed by the symptoms they cause when they become large enough to make nasal breathing difficult, a sensation of congestion, smell and taste may be affected, and by blocking the normal drainage orifices of the paranasal sinuses they may predispose to inflammation (sinusitis, frontal sinusitis).
Diagnosis
The discovery of the existence of small polyps that do not cause symptoms usually occurs during an ENT examination for another problem that is troubling the patient. They are diagnosed by endoscopy of the nasal cavity with a flexible or rigid endoscope. With the help of the endoscope's camera and the use of a medical monitor, we can see the nasal cavity in high resolution and magnification and distinguish lesions and pathologies that cannot be detected with the classic ENT examination with anterior rhinoscopy.
Very useful in the diagnostic approach of nasal polyps is the CT scan of the visceral skull, which should be high-resolution in 3 planes. This examination will reveal the full extent of the polyps and will be useful in the management and treatment of polyps.
Treatment
Treatment depends on the severity of the condition. Small polyps can be treated with cortisone nasal sprays or cortisone pills for a short time. Larger lesions that cause severe symptoms should, after preparation with appropriate medication, be surgically removed using the method of endoscopic sinus surgery (FESS - Functional Endoscopic Sinus Surgery). After their removal, polyps can reappear, which is why maintenance treatment of the surgical result is often necessary.