Eliminating Sinus Misery in 20 Minutes at the Office!

Anyone who has suffered through the pain and discomfort of severe sinus infections knows just how debilitating it can be. While not life-threatening, the severe headaches and facial pain, the inability to focus and concentrate, the incessant sneezing, congestion, and runny nose that often accompany these conditions can make life downright miserable. Many people who suffer with these symptoms have no idea that these conditions are not just treatable but actually curable.

Dr. Alen Cohen is the founder and director of the Southern California Sinus Institute (SCSI). He founded the center in 2009 after discovering patients traveling long distances to see him to manage their complex medical problems. Today, the Southern California Sinus Institute has become one of the premier sinus centers in all of California, a place where thousands of patients have benefitted from Dr. Cohen’s life-changing procedures.

More than 37 million Americans suffer from at least one episode of acute sinusitis each year. According to Dr. Cohen, the prevalence of sinusitis has soared in the last decade, especially here in Southern California, due possibly to the increase in allergies, pollution, and urban sprawl, and the increased resistance to antibiotics. While some people only get rare and/or moderate symptoms, many people suffer with chronic or recurrent acute sinusitis, a condition where people chronically develop severe facial pain along the sinuses, infected discharge from the nasal cavities, low-grade fevers, constant post-nasal drip, sinus headaches, and sever e nasal congestion.

According to Dr. Cohen, if this condition occurs more than three to four times per year and requires antibiotics, decongestants, or nasal or oral steroids, one is usually diagnosed with recurrent acute sinusitis. If the condition lasts longer than 12 weeks, then it is termed chronic sinusitis. The unfortunate problem is that many seeking help are diagnosed incorrectly or not diagnosed at all and continue to suffer for years and years with no help in sight. Dr. Cohen states, “Many patients routinely come to me on various nasal sprays, over-the- counter decongestants, antihistamines, and various other medicines and are tired of the run-around seeking definitive help. That’s where I can help.”

Dr. Cohen wants patients to know that they don’t have to continue to suffer as there are now revolutionary procedures available to help patients with these miserable conditions. Most of these procedures can be done in the office under local anesthesia (just like going to the dentist) without any bleeding, packing, or discomfort, and patients can go back to work or school the next day. The most common procedure he performs is the revolutionary in-office Balloon Sinuplasty™ procedure, in which he is one of the top-three performers on the West Coast. This amazing procedure dilates the sinus openings with a balloon (just like opening a clogged artery around the heart) so the sinuses can drain and you can breathe better without headaches and recurrent infections. Dr. Cohen has also personally pioneered a breakthrough procedure in the treatment of more-advanced chronic sinusitis, deviated septums, and nasal polyps called Minimally Invasive Image Guided Sinus Surgery (MIGSS™).

One of Dr. Cohen’s patients stated that severe sinus headaches with acute internal allergic inflammation degraded the quality of his life for more than 20 years. Seven other ear-nose-and- throat specialists treated his complex problems of nasal and sinus pathology but never gave him the improvement he was seeking. In contrast, Dr. Cohen delivered results. After comprehensively evaluating this patient in the office with a sinus CT scan and nasal scope, Dr. Cohen performed in-office Balloon Sinuplasty™ and turbinate reduction under local anesthesia in less than 20 minutes and the patient was back to work the next day feeling decades better. This procedure resulted in the patient’s ability to breathe without restriction through his nose, alleviated all his sinus headaches, and most importantly, significantly improved the patient’s quality of life. This patient was able to resume normal activities within a day of the procedure being performed. He is now three years out without a single sinus infection.

Considered by his patients and prominent physicians as the best sinus surgeon in Los Angeles, Dr. Cohen has been named a Los Angeles Magazine Super Doctor from 2013 to 2017 as well as a Castle Connelly Top Doctor, published in US News & World Report. He is presently chief of surgery at West Hills Hospital and Medical Center and CEO of C/V ENT Surgical Group, a five-person ENT group that handles all aspects of ENT care in children and adults from two state-of- the-art facilities in Encino and West Hills. What stands out most about Dr. Cohen is his compassion and professionalism in the treatment of his patients. This quality is not only expressed by the multitude of patients he has treated for years but by the numerous physicians who come to see him as patients themselves.

Alen N. Cohen, MD, FACS, FARS
Board-Certified Nose & Sinus Surgeon
Fellow, American College of Surgery
Fellow, American Rhinologic Society
Founder and Director,
Southern California Sinus Institute (SCSI)
CEO, C/V ENT Surgical Group
socalsinus.com
cvsurgicalgroup.com