(CBS) Chronic sinus sufferers may breathe a lot easier with a new outpatient surgery called "balloon sinuplasty." It's similar to angioplasty, but doctors insert a balloon-like device into the nose.

Gloria Ward can feel her sinus infections flaring up again.

“Right now, I have pain on this side,” she said.

The sneezing, the coughing, always clearing her throat.

“I was having a lot of numbness on one side and a lot of problems hearing out of the one ear, and it has to do with the sinus infections I was having,” Ward said.

When medication didn't work, the 51-year-old turned to a new surgery called "balloon sinuplasty.”

Sinuses drain through tiny passageways, but when they're blocked due to allergies, colds, or infections, the pain begins.

With a camera scope and a lighted wire that you can actually see through the skull, doctors open up the sinus passages with a tiny, saline-filled balloon. The balloon permanently reshapes the opening.

Balloon sinuplasty has been around for two years. About 20,000 procedures have been performed using this technique.

The high-pressure balloon seems tiny, until it's squeezed into the sinus canals. There's no cutting involved and the operation can take less than an hour. Technology is helping change the notion that nasal surgery isn't effective.

“Most people will say that it completely changes their life,” said plastic surgeon Dr. Marc Kerner. “They didn't realize how bad off they were before they had this done.”

Recovery time is quick. Ward said she experienced pain for a day and was back to work in three days. But it will take a couple weeks to see the full results ... perhaps in time to start smelling the roses come spring.