New
Laser Procedure Helps Patients Breath Easier
The Health Report, Lake Forest Hospital
Volume 18, Number 2, Summer 1997
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| Is your nose chronically congested or
obstructed? Is breathing difficult for you? A new form of laser treatment is now available
for patients who suffer from these symptoms - not necessarily due to allergies - and who
do not respond to standard medical therapies. Dr. William Gatti,
Otolaryngologist on staff at Lake Forest Hospital, was one of the first in Illinois to
utilize this technology and is currently performing this latest laser procedure in his
offices in Libertyville and Gurnee. Called Laser Assisted Turbinate Reduction (LATR), this
procedure uses as carbon dioxide laser with special wave guides to reduce the size of the
turbinates (the soft tissue projections in the nose which serve to warm and humidify the
air). Turbinates become irritated or enlarged because of allergies, weather changes,
stress, fatigue, hormonal changes, sensitivities or medications - leading to continual
nasal congestion or blockage. |
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LATR reduces the size of the enlarged turbinates, relieves
the pressure of nasal congestion and improves nasal breathing. The office procedure
requires only topical anesthesia, which is sprayed into the nose, carries little risk of
bleeding, causes little pain, requires no packing and allows the patient to return almost
immediately to normal activities. Prior to the development of the laser procedure, the
operation would have required surgery under general anesthesia with significant risk of
bleeding. "This is a new way of treating something that is reasonably common,"
said Gatti. "Patients whose rhinitis can't otherwise be successfully treated may
benefit from the LATR treatment. Many patients have been told that they have to live with
it - even when they are found to be without allergies. This procedure may offer an
alternative." |
