EUSTACHIAN TUBE DYSFUNCTION

ABOUT EUSTACHIAN TUBE DILATION

Balloon Dilation of the Eustachian Tube(s), or Eustachian Tube Dilation, has recently been introduced as a novel and minimally invasive method for treating chronic obstructive Eustachian Tube Dysfunction when medical management such as decongestants, antihistamines, nasal steroid sprays, and in some cases antibiotics, fail to resolve symptoms.
This innovative procedure has been approved by the FDA in the recent years and involves passing a high-pressured balloon attached to a catheter through the nasal opening and into the cartilaginous portion of the Eustachian Tube.
This leads to controlled ischemia of the thickened mucosal lining of the Eustachian Tube, which then subsequently leads to replacement of the previous inflamed and swollen mucosal lining by a thinner layer of fibrous tissue, thus resulting in a more open and patent Eustachian Tube.
This procedure takes approximately a half hour to complete in a comfortable office setting without the need for general anesthesia or hospitalization, with minimal recovery time off from work. This has proven to be an effective alternative in the recent years to the traditional practice of myringotomy (incision in the eardrum), as well as myringotomy with tube insertion (incision in the eardrum with insertion of a tympanostomy tube).
Dr. Yu-Syken has been one of the pioneers of this procedure and has been helping patients with Eustachian Tube Dysfunction achieve a better quality of life through Eustachian Tube Dilation since 2015.