Sinusitis Treatment

Video date: Nov 4, 2010 After learning she had a sinus infection so serious it was threatening her brain, Nikita Carter of Barbados said the decision to travel to Good Samaritan Hospital, more than 2300 miles away, was an easy one. -- Read the complete article -- www.trihealth.com "Health is important to me," said 25-year-old Carter. "If that's what needed to be done, I was fine with having it done." Carter needed the expertise and advanced equipment available at only one facility in Greater Cincinnati: Good Samaritan Hospital. A sinus specialist in Barbados diagnosed Carter with allergic fungal sinusitis after she lost her sense of smell in September 2009. "It was strange," Carter said. "I thought maybe I just had a cold, but October [2009] came and I still couldn't smell. That's when I went to the doctor." Dr. Thomas Tami MD, TriHealth sinus specialist with Group Health Associates, says the condition can have severe implications. "They develop sinusitis and mold starts to grow in the sinuses. They're allergic to the mold, and start producing very thick, tenacious mucus. The mucus gets trapped in the sinuses and starts to expand and basically erodes the bone around the sinus," said Dr. Tami, a board certified otolaryngologist, also known as an ear, nose and throat doctor. One area where the bone erosion was occurring was in the sphenoid sinus, which is surrounded by vital structures including the carotid artery, the optic nerves, the pituitary gland and the brain ...