A new report has found that patients who undergo surgery for chronic sinus disease are having the procedure done more often using an endoscope, according to findings published in the Archives of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery.

Patients who have developed chronic rhinosinusitis, an infection in which the sinus cavities and nose become inflamed for more than three months, suffer from several symptoms including congestion, runny nose headaches, loss of smell and increased pressure along the sinuses.

The authors of this report based their findings on a study conducted in 1985, which studied a group of patients aged 65 to 99 years old that had been diagnosed with chronic rhinosinusitis.

Further research found that the number of endoscope surgeries had increased by 20 percent, while open sinus surgery rates went down by approximately 40 percent. Also, by using an endoscope to perform surgery, patients can benefit from the technique that is minimally invasive, which allows for faster recovery.

The authors concluded that “because of the uncertainty regarding the outcomes of surgical versus medical management, the root causes of the observed increase in endoscopic sinus surgery rates need to be investigated.” They added that “given that sinusitis is a common diagnosis necessitating physician visits, comparative effectiveness studies examining medical versus surgical management would be warranted.”

Approximately 40,000 people have sinus surgery every year, according to the American Academy of Allergy Asthma and Immunology.