PROPEL® Steroid-releasing Implant

Do you suffer from painful nasal congestion, difficulty breathing, a reduction in your senses of smell and taste, headaches, fatigue and facial pain? If so, you might be one of the 31 million Americans affected by chronic sinusitis.

Chronic sinusitis is one of the most common health problems in America, and it can often be treated with medication. But if your sinusitis is too severe to respond to medicine, it might require surgery.

Sinusitis surgery can be complicated – but now patients in Iowa have a new treatment available to help get better after sinus surgery: the PROPEL sinus implant.

What is PROPEL?

PROPEL is a dissolvable sinus implant that is placed into the patient’s ethmoid sinus after sinus surgery to enlarge the sinus passageways. The PROPEL implant helps patients get better results from their sinus surgery and reduce scarring and inflammation.

How does PROPEL work?

The PROPEL sinus implant works like a spring to prop open the ethmoid sinus to maintain the surgical opening, while also delivering anti-inflammatory medication directly to the sinus lining. After sinus surgery, PROPEL keeps sinuses from closing up and makes it easier for the patient to breathe and avoid infections.

The implant fully dissolves over time (similar to dissolvable stitches), so there's no need for it to be removed by the doctor.

Where can I get PROPEL implant treatment in Iowa?

Iowa ENT Center offers this treatment. We were the first group of Iowa physicians to implant PROPEL as part of sinus surgery.

What are the advantages of PROPEL treatment?

PROPEL is clinically proven to improve surgical outcomes for chronic sinusitis sufferers. It helps people feel better, faster, with less risk of complications.

Advantages include:

• Less scarring and inflammation. When placed in the sinus following surgery, PROPEL decreases scarring and inflammation.
• Less need for additional surgery. One risk of sinusitis surgery is that some people need to have additional follow-up operations to keep their sinuses clear. PROPEL reduces the need for post-operative medical and surgical therapies by 35%, which may mean shorter and less painful post-op visits.
• Fewer steroid side effects. PROPEL delivers steroidal medication directly to the sinus, which means that patients require fewer oral steroids (an analysis found that PROPEL leads to a 40% reduction in the need for oral steroid interventions) and reduce their risk of potential oral steroid side effects.

To see if the PROPEL implant might be a good treatment to help relieve your chronic sinusitis, request an appointment or call 855-559-4368.