SC Connecticut News

• UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson underwent a sinus procedure shortly before announcing his resignation.

• After his procedure, Johnson returned to work later the same day.

• Balloon sinuplasty can be done in as little as 15 minutes, and the recovery time is minimal.

UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson announced his resignation in early July, following a string of controversies and scandals throughout his almost 3 years in office, CNBC reported.  During the 2 days leading up to his announcement, dozens of members of Johnson’s own party called for him to step down, expressing their lack of confidence in the Conservative Party leader. 

Johnson said he will remain in office until a new party leader is chosen to take over. 

Two weeks before he said “Hasta la vista, baby” in his final "Prime Minister's Questions" session, Johnson took a quick trip to a hospital to take care of a sinus issue. 

UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson had a minor sinus procedure in late June, with a medical source saying that he likely had a functional endoscopic sinus surgery (FESS) to treat chronic sinusitis. 

According to The Guardian, Johnson arrived at the hospital around 6 a.m. and was home by 10 a.m. With one type of FESS, balloon sinuplasty, a doctor would insert a small balloon in the patient's nostril and then inflate the balloon so that the patient’s blocked sinus would expand. This procedure does not include facial incisions, and there are rarely complications. 

“What that allows us to do is to be able to open up blocked and clogged sinuses without requiring surgery, because we're not removing any tissue,” Dr. Robert Weiss of CT ENT Sinus Center told SC Connecticut News. “We're simply dilating and remodeling and opening those blockages. After a couple of years, we realized that patients don't need to go to sleep for this because it can be done in such a minimally invasive way. We can do this with local anesthesia. We do these procedures in our office almost every day of the week. We don't have to schedule anything at the hospital or the surgery center. What that's done, is it's opened the door for doing sinus work and nasal procedures in a local setting in a much less-invasive way. That downtime after the procedure is much less because (patients) do not have the extensive procedures that they are having under general anesthesia.”

Johnson was able to return to his office and attend meetings on the afternoon of the procedure, Bloomberg reported. 

“Usually, most of our patients are back to whatever the routine is -- whether it's work, being a parent or being retired -- within 24 to 48 hours,” Weiss said. “I'd say that's the vast majority of the experiences. Most of our procedures last about 15 or 20 minutes. It's not like we're in there very long, but there are a lot of benefits afterward."

Balloon sinuplasty, also known as balloon catheter dilation surgery, is a procedure used to clear blocked sinuses, according to Healthline. This fairly new procedure was approved in 2005 by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and referred to as the “smart sinus” procedure. After a procedure’s completion, many patients have the ability to return to their regular activities within a day or so. Some patients can even drive themselves home after the procedure.

Balloon sinuplasty is becoming more popular due to the low risk and quicker recovery time than traditional sinus surgery, according to GoodRx. The procedure does not require the removal of any bone or facial tissue, leading to less pain and swelling and a lower risk of infection.

Readers can learn more about sinusitis and balloon sinuplasty by visiting CT ENT Sinus Center's website.