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CARY -- In a matter of minutes, a balloon is used to stretch the sinus passageways- eliminating pain, pressure and other symptoms for the patient. For some patients results are seen almost instantly.

"The AHA moment came either that afternoon or the next day when (sniffs) I can breathe! That's the AHA moment, exactly that, it's wow that's what it feels like to take a breath through your nose," said David Cole.

Cole had the balloon sinuplasty done about 6 months ago. He went to Dr. Charles Mann, an ENT in Cary, after nearly having a crisis in his professional life, when he could barely talk.

"My voice would be weak and at the end of the day, I could speak, but it was very weak and hoarse and that brought me here with what do we do now, because this is not going to work in my business to not be able to talk,” explained Cole. "I'm a privately accredited VA clinic claims agent.  All I do all day long is talk to people on the telephone, from morning to night, because we do it on the west coast, so talking is a pretty important thing in my business."

Cole is one of Dr. Mann’s many success stories.

"The positive things about this surgery are little or no pain, packing or bleeding. There's no cutting,” explained Dr. Mann. “We use a laser to open up the nose; we use a bipolar needle to open up the turbinates. Both of these are relatively bloodless. And then the balloon goes in all six sinuses and it opens the sinuses. Once we're finished we wake the patient up and they go home.”

His office first started doing the procedure 10 years ago. “And since that time, it really took off about 2011,” said Dr. Mann. “I think it really took off when the insurance companies realized that this is working."

The minimally invasive procedure is done in his office and takes about 15 minutes. 

"Now when you stretch, you're actually cracking small little bones, you're remodeling the sinus passage and it works better than surgery. With the balloons we find by opening it in a natural form, in its natural location, it remodels it so you can have much better function and much better drainage."

And for Cole that means- his voice was back. "I'm not ready to sing, but I've got my voice back and I'm very happy that it lasts throughout the day. That was the most important symptom to me and that's been taken care of."

Dr. Mann says not everyone is a candidate for this procedure.  And most patients can return to work the next day.

For more information about Dr. Mann’s office and the procedure, click here.