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Condition · 1 treatment path

Chronic Sinusitis

Chronic sinusitis is inflammation of the sinuses that lasts 12 weeks or longer despite treatment. It affects adults more often than children and is often linked to allergy or a narrowed drainage passage.

Moderate
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Typical severity
ModerateTypical severity

About chronic sinusitis

What to know

Symptoms include a blocked nose, thick nasal or throat discharge, facial pressure, a dull headache and loss of smell. A specialist examines the nose with a small camera, and a CT scan shows thickened sinus lining, polyps or blocked openings. Symptoms often wax and wane, with repeated flare-ups.

Daily saline rinses and steroid nasal sprays are the mainstay, with antibiotics or short oral steroid courses used for flare-ups, and allergy control where relevant. If this does not give enough relief, endoscopic sinus surgery widens the natural drainage pathways and removes polyps. Surgery helps most people but ongoing nasal care is still needed. Treatment abroad is sometimes considered for planned sinus surgery.

Pre-flight workup

Tests to have already done

  • CT scan of the nose and sinuses, ideally after treatment, showing blocked drainage pathways and a deviated septum.
  • Nasal endoscopy report or images showing polyps, pus or swelling.
  • Details of medicines tried, such as steroid sprays, saline irrigation and antibiotic courses, with dates.
  • Allergy test results and any history of asthma, reflux or dental infections.
  • Records of past sinus procedures and any episodes of eye swelling or severe headache.

Second opinion

When to get a second look

  • Symptoms continue after at least three months of proper sprays and rinses, and you have been advised surgery without a CT.
  • Your pain is mostly one-sided or you have blood-stained discharge, which warrants a closer look.
  • Your sinuses recur soon after previous surgery.

Talking to your doctor

Questions to ask

  1. Does my CT scan show blockage that matches my symptoms?
  2. Have I tried the right medicines for long enough?
  3. Which sinuses would be opened, and is my septum also an issue?
  4. What are the risks to my eyes and sense of smell?
  5. How long should I use rinses and sprays after the operation?

Outlook

Realistic prognosis

Many people improve with sprays and rinses alone. For those who undergo endoscopic sinus surgery after medical treatment fails, most report clear improvements in breathing, pressure and infections. Surgery does not remove the underlying tendency to inflammation, so continued care is needed. Outcomes are weaker when allergy, asthma or polyps are not controlled.

01 · Specialties

Specialties that treat Chronic

Specialists Doctors who treat chronic sinusitis Cross-hospital roster across 1+ relevant specialties. View roster

Diagnostic workup

Before you pick a hospital, get the workup right

Moderate — workup within 1–2 weeks

Picking the right treatment is downstream of a complete diagnosis. Skip steps here and the destination surgeon usually re-orders them anyway — at higher cost and another week on the ground.

  1. Confirm the diagnosis on imaging or labs

    For chronic sinusitis, plan on the workup your home doctor would order anyway — typically a recent specialist consult plus the imaging / labs the destination team will need to quote accurately. Anything older than 90 days usually gets re-done.
  2. See a ent / otolaryngology specialist locally first

    An in-person clinical exam at home — even a single consult — costs little and dramatically improves the destination plan. Bring back: written impression, recommended procedure, surgical-risk class, and any contra-indications.
  3. Send us the file for a free second opinion

    Two surgeons in our medical panel review the workup independently. They tell you whether they'd operate, watch, or refer — even if that means recommending against travel.
  4. Pick a path with timeline + cost in writing

    Once a treatment is the right call, we line up 2–3 hospital options with itemized quotes, surgeon profiles, and a travel timeline. You hold the file — switch hospitals or step away at any point.

03 · Treatment paths

Treatment options

All treatments

Where to be treated

Chronic Sinusitis treatment by destination

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04 · FAQ

Common questions about chronic sinusitis

Do antibiotics cure chronic sinusitis?

Rarely on their own. The main treatment is steroid sprays and saline rinses, with antibiotics only for certain flare-ups or confirmed bacterial infection.

Does a deviated septum cause sinusitis?

It can contribute by narrowing the drainage pathway. If your CT shows a significant deviation along with blocked sinuses, septal correction may be done together with sinus surgery.

How long is recovery after sinus surgery?

Most people return to light activity within a week or so, with crusting and congestion settling over a few weeks. Rinses and follow-up cleaning visits help healing.

Clinical context

Working up chronic sinusitis properly

A condition like chronic sinusitis is rarely well-served by jumping straight to treatment shopping. The sequence below is what a ent / otolaryngology specialist would expect to see completed — and the absence of any step is the right cue to delay travel decisions.

Diagnostic workup, in sequence

  1. First-line clinical assessment

    History, physical exam, and risk-factor review by a senior generalist or ent / otolaryngology specialist. Symptoms list, family history, prior workup notes, and current medication list should travel with the patient.

  2. Standard imaging + labs

    Baseline blood work, condition-specific imaging (ultrasound / X-ray / MRI / CT — depending on indication), and ECG / pulmonary function as relevant. Bring digital copies of any prior imaging — saves repeat scans and the cost that goes with them.

  3. Specialist diagnostic workup

    Procedure-specific tests — biopsy, cardiac catheterisation, endoscopy, or genetic / molecular profiling depending on the suspected diagnosis. Done at the centre that will treat, ideally, so results integrate cleanly into the treatment plan.

  4. Multidisciplinary review (where indicated)

    Cancer, complex cardiac, transplant, and rare-disease cases should be reviewed by a multidisciplinary panel — surgical, medical, imaging, and pathology — before any treatment commits. Single-discipline plans for complex disease are a quality red flag.

When to escalate to specialist review

  • New, persistent, or worsening symptoms beyond the usual pattern — particularly anything that disrupts work, sleep, or daily function for >2 weeks.
  • Symptoms accompanied by red-flag features (unintentional weight loss, night sweats, bleeding, severe pain, neurological signs).
  • Any "this feels different" instinct — especially with recurrent or chronic conditions where you know your baseline well.
  • A second-opinion misalignment with your current care plan — when two qualified clinicians disagree, the case warrants a third review before committing.

Before you book international travel

  • Confirm your specific diagnosis is fully worked up before you commit to a treatment plan abroad. Travelling for the workup is fine; travelling for treatment without the workup done is not.
  • Get your case reviewed remotely by the destination centre's team before you book flights — credible international patient programs review imaging + reports before they confirm the surgical plan.
  • Bring a digital + physical copy of your full medical record: imaging on USB drive in DICOM format, labs in PDF, current medication list with dosages, allergies, and any prior surgical reports.
  • Plan for the post-op rehabilitation phase before you fly — the surgery itself is rarely the bottleneck.
  • Confirm that follow-up imaging and any necessary in-person reviews can be done at home — a treatment plan that requires repeat international trips is more burdensome (and more expensive) than the headline procedure.
How this page is made

Methodology and editorial standards

This chronic sinusitis overview is written by the editorial team from published ENT / Otolaryngology sources and lists 1 treatment options offered by hospitals on our network. The page shows its last-updated date. Clinical descriptions are editorial — your treating clinician confirms what's right for your specific case.

  1. Hospital data. Hospital details are compiled from public sources and hospital websites. Accreditation (JCI, NABH and others) is shown where we hold a record of it. Always ask the hospital for its current certificate.
  2. Doctor credentials. Qualifications, specialty and bio come from the doctor's hospital profile. Licence is checked against the national medical-council register only where the profile shows a "Licence verified" badge with a date.
  3. Prices. Price ranges are indicative, compiled from hospital price lists and packages and shown with the date last updated. The hospital's written quote is what you pay against.
  4. Clinical text. Written by the Medcasts editorial team from published clinical sources. Unless a named reviewer is shown on the page, it has not been reviewed by a doctor.
  5. Independence. Hospitals cannot pay to change their position on our pages.
Data sources for this page
Peer-reviewed clinical guidelines (NCCN, ESMO, ESC, AHA, NICE — by indication)WHO ICD-11 condition classificationNational medical society treatment protocolsJCI accreditation registry

Chronic Sinusitis

Continue evaluating chronic sinusitis care

Condition overview is one entry. These hubs route the same care decision via specialty, surgeon, treatment, and destination — including the doctors actively treating chronic sinusitis.

Next step · Chronic Sinusitis

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