A procedure new to the area may offer people with chronic sinus problems relief without the incisions.

35 million people on sinus medication could benefit from a new procedure that uses a tiny balloon on a wire.

The procedure is called balloon sinuplasty. It opens sinus cavities the same way doctors open clogged arteries when they do a balloon angioplasty. The procedure is minimally invasive and reshapes the sinus cavity. Patients are asleep during the process.

"What we are doing is passing a catheter into the sinus cavity and inflate the balloon which remodels the bone and opens up the drainage pathway," says Dr. Ronald Kuppersmith, Texas ENT & Allergy.

The balloon itself is tiny and only opens about a quarter of an inch. The passageway is opened and the balloon is then deflated and withdrawn. Nothing is left in the sinus cavity. There are no incisions.

Because the procedure is minimally invasive, patients have reduced bleeding and a faster recovery time than sinus surgery. Some patients have gotten back to work in 24 hours.

"Patients I've talked to that have had the procedure done use a lot less medication than people who have typical surgery. A couple haven't used any at all which is remarkable."

The surgery isn't for everyone. It doesn't work for people with ethnoid sinus problems.