• Comparison of the total cost of ESS (with balloon) in office vs. ESS (with or without balloon) in the OR, including operative costs, and post-operative costs [ Time Frame: June 2010 ] [ Designated as safety issue: No ]
  

• Safety and effectiveness of ESS (with balloon) in office vs. ESS (with or without balloon) in the OR, by assessments of patency, Kennedy-Lund endoscopic scores, revisions, sinus infections, Lund-MacKay CT scores, days off work and quality of life [ Time Frame: June 2010 ] [ Designated as safety issue: Yes ]
  

With the recent introduction of minimally invasive balloon catheter dilation technology by Acclarent, Inc., several physicians have begun to explore the possible application of balloon dilatation in the office setting. Leveraging balloon sinuplasty devices as an enabling technology, tremendous cost-saving benefits would be achieved if the OR procedures under general anesthesia could be migrated into the office setting employing only local anesthesia. However, while physicians have expressed great interest in this potential office migration, there is no mechanism currently in place to reimburse office clinics for their corresponding technical fees. In contrast, physician professional fees for these procedures are the same no matter what the site of care setting. This study aims to collect comprehensive operative and post-operative cost data across all settings, studying total resource absorption for procedures able to be performed in the physician office relative to the traditional OR setting. This resultant cost savings will provide the basis for applying for non-facility practice expense RVUs for endoscopic sinus surgery performed in the office setting. Additionally, the study is also evaluating the safety and efficacy of balloon sinuplasty in the office setting.