With the widespread implementation of nasal endoscopic sinus surgery and the maturity of nasal endoscopic surgery techniques, rhinologists have fully recognized the importance of systematic postoperative follow-up and comprehensive treatment. However, patients do not realize the importance of persistent postoperative follow-up, often thinking that his treatment is over after the surgery. They often think that their treatment is over after the surgery, or they come for follow-up only in the first month after surgery, and then they lose the visit when their symptoms improve, and then they come to the clinic half a year later and find polyps growing again, which often requires another surgery, adding physical pain and financial burden to themselves. This is the most problematic issue for rhinologists nowadays.
Before surgery, patients often ask their doctors: Will nasal polyps recur after surgery?
This is the most important question for the patients and the most important for the doctors. Now, with the maturity of nasal endoscopic sinus technology and postoperative follow-up and comprehensive treatment, it can be said that the recurrence problem that has plagued us for many years has been relatively well resolved, and most nasal polyps have not recurred after more than a year of follow-up. However, it is undeniable that there are still some patients who need to be operated again due to recurrence. So, how to keep from recurrence and how to reduce the possibility of recurrence? We will now talk to patients about this issue and the importance of surgery and post-surgical follow-up.
First, is a successful surgery always recurrence-free?
The answer is no. Of course, a successful surgery is the most important and basic factor to ensure that polyps will not recur, but postoperative follow-up is as important as the surgery. Because nasal endoscopic surgery is different from the previous radical surgery, it emphasizes a “functional” principle, that is, the surgery should preserve the mucosa of the nasal cavity and sinuses to the maximum extent to restore the physiological function of the nasal cavity as soon as possible. Therefore, surgery is only the beginning and key stage of the overall treatment, and postoperative follow-up and comprehensive treatment is the essential part of the whole process of nasal endoscopy for nasal polyps and sinusitis. The postoperative follow-up and comprehensive treatment is an essential and important part of the whole process of nasal polyp and sinusitis.
Secondly, when does the postoperative follow-up visit start and how long should it last?
Generally speaking, postoperative nasal endoscopy is routinely performed once every two weeks for one month, and then once every month until the epithelialization of the mucosa, which takes about six months to one year. In case of recurrent nasal polyps, the follow-up time should be extended.
Thirdly, why do we need endoscopy for postoperative follow-up?
Because 5~6 weeks after surgery is the period of sinus secretion and crust formation, cavity vesicle change and granulation growth, which need to be cleared by endoscopy to prevent nasal adhesions to keep sinus drainage open, and general outpatient examination cannot deal with these conditions. If these vesicles and granules are not cleared in time, they will gradually recur later as nasal polyps and sinusitis, so herein lies the importance of insisting on nasal endoscopy after surgery. In summary, a successful endoscopic sinus surgery and the establishment and adherence to a good follow-up system are important factors in curing sinusitis and nasal polyps.
At present, the main factors that affect patients’ inability to adhere to postoperative follow-up nasal endoscopy are: 1. patients’ ideology, i.e., they do not clearly understand the value and significance of follow-up visits to the success of the surgery and the cure of the disease, and think that the surgery is completed when it is well, which requires vigorous propaganda from our medical workers, and its importance should be repeatedly emphasized to patients before and after surgery; 2. psychological factors, i.e., patients’ pain and fear of follow-up treatment Fear and fear of bleeding after treatment, this point is also the patients must overcome, in order to reduce the future recurrence, must adhere to the; 3, economic factors This is also a very important factor in the current patient can not adhere to the follow-up, but also the most helpless doctors, I believe that with the development of the national economy and the health insurance system, this problem will certainly be improved.