Koester LK, et al. - Because balloon sinuplasty has become an increasingly popular option for patients undergoing sinusitis surgery, researchers analyzed the use and growth of these procedures over a 5-year period across a large patient cohort. For balloon sinuplasty and endoscopic sinus surgery claims, data were extracted. Investigators found that the number of balloon procedures increased from 5,603 to 25,640 from 2012 to 2016. From 15,509 to 18,164, traditional endoscopic sinus surgery procedures increased. Total payments to balloon procedures providers ($40.5 million) were significantly higher in 2016 than payments to non-balloon-based endoscopic sinus operation providers ($4.7 million). Overall, they suggested that the number of sinus procedures in the Medicare population from 2012 to 2016 has been expanding rapidly. The overwhelming majority of increases in procedures and payments are due to office-based balloon procedures. For sinuplasty procedures, per procedure and aggregate payments are now higher than for traditional sinus surgery.