2006年VOA标准英语-New Surgery Helps Sinus Sufferers

（单词翻译）

By Melinda Smith
Washington, DC
17 April 2006
 
watch Sinus Surgery report

Many people who live in climates where there is a change of seasons often experience sinus problems.  Sinus pain and headaches can be miserable¹, and for some, the only relief comes with surgery.  But as VOA's Melinda Smith reports, there is a new procedure that helps sinus sufferers breathe more easily.

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Springtime means flowering trees
  
  

Oh, the beauty of spring!  There are blossoms everywhere ... green grass ... it's a perfect time to enjoy the sunshine ... dogs in the park ... flying a kite.

But something else comes with all that outdoor activity:  pollen² and sinus problems.

It's a miserable combination: blocked sinuses, a headache that won't go away, constant pressure on the face.  It can affect daily living:

Michelle Lynch
  
  
Patient Michelle Lynch tells how it affected³ her. "I couldn't work. You can't breathe. I couldn't sleep."

The twenty-four year old had sinus pain for years.  Doctors say an abnormal bone growth in her sinus was the cause.  

 
Dr. Peter Catalano 
  
Recently she tried a new treatment.  Dr. Peter Catalano of the Lahey Clinic in Boston, Massachusetts says it often provides relief. "This is a wonderful, wonderful advantageous⁴ technology for patients."

Balloon sinuplasty opens up sinuses similar to surgery for clogged⁵ arteries⁶.

 
Sinuplasty surgery uses a ballon to inflate⁷ the sinus passage 
  
While the patient is under anesthesia, a guide-wire equipped with a tiny balloon is threaded into the nostrils⁸ ... up to the blockage⁹ ... the balloon is then inflated¹⁰ to open up the passageway.

The balloon is then deflated¹¹ and withdrawn¹².

Dr. Catalano says as the bones are fractured, they spread apart and surprisingly, the patient feels little or no pain. "The bones in the sinus drain are very soft, thin bones.  They are extremely malleable¹³."

Michelle Lynch went back to work the next day. "This procedure made a huge difference in my life.  Since the procedure I can't say I've even had a headache, and breathing is so clear."

Now she and others who have had this procedure can enjoy springtime without worry.