It sounds as if you are in very good hands. As mentioned, the surgery is a major one, so they'll want to be use all the diagnostic tools they can. I would imagine that they will do a regular examination, and a scan, just to be sure. I don't even know how they know if they are draining properly, or how they know if the infection in the bone is going away.can they tell when they look up the nose or are we in for more scans? Also have NO idea how much longer this drainage tube will have to stay in. The problem is at this point they are not sure yet if the sinuses are draining properly or if they are if they will continue to do so. I definitely wouldn't move forward with the Frontal Sinus Obliteration procedure without a second opinion. I'm not familiar with anyone at the University of Pittsburgh who specializes in treating someone in your husband's situation. Pete Batra at the Cleveland Clinic, he's another well known and respected expert in sinus surgery. If Philadelphia is too far, you could contact Dr. He is a world-renowned specialist in frontal sinus surgery. David Kennedy at the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia. Depending on your husband's ability to travel I would recommend that you contact Dr. Treating a situation like your husband's is probably beyond the expertise of most office-based ENTs - and truly requires a surgeon who specializes in hard-to-treat sinus disorders (most likely at a major teaching hospital). It requires special training and equipment (in particular an imaging system that allows the surgeon to see exactly where his/her instruments are on a 3D image of the patient's sinus cavities) that are usually only available at a major teaching hospital. The Endoscopic Modified Lothrop Procedure is much less invasive and can successfully restore normal function and drainage to the frontal sinuses. That's where I think a second opinion would be a good idea. He said we could go ahead with the major surgery or take our chances. My BIG problem is Hubby is VERY nervous about this kind of stuff and I would like to know the possibilities of what I am dealing with so I can clue him in calmly if the need arises. At this point we basically have a wait and see attitude.
When I asked what the chances are that this surgery will work he said right now 50/50. There is a drainage tube protruding above his eye and the Doc said it must stay there until he is certain that area is draining. At that time he said we had to do this surgery to drain the abcess and get rid of the infection. He told us then that there was a possibility that the abcess would grow back. Thanks so much for the responses and please keep em coming! The ENT told us that the condition my husband had to begin with was rare and life threatening before he did the first surgery.