Why Does my ENT perform a Nasal Endoscopy and request a CT scan? Are they both necessary?

An otolaryngologist has very special training in the detailed anatomy of the nasal cavity and the sinuses. They also have been trained to identify correctly what different diseases look like inside the nose and sinuses. All of this knowledge isn’t very useful without a technique to get a good exam of these areas. Most of us have had the experience of our primary care doctor shining the light at the entrance to our nose as part of their exam. In truth, very little except the obvious can be identified by this exam. Their nasal or sinus diagnoses is basically based on symptoms and unfortunately this is not very reliable. An otolaryngologist uses a nasal endoscope in the office to obtain a magnified detailed examination of the nasal anatomy and the sinus. This is frequently performed along with a sinus CAT scan which looks at the bony openings of the sinus cavities and the sinuses themselves. This is similar to a primary care doctor feeling your abdomen to identify what is causing intestinal complaints versus a gastroenterologist doing a colonoscopy and a barium enema. The use of these types of tools by a specialist greatly increases the ability of the physician to correctly identify the diagnoses and provide the relief the patient needs. Daniel Slaughter, MD