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Health Reform 101: Use this primer to navigate the changes ahead

The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act of 2010 (ACA) is described as the most sweeping health care legislation passed in the U.S. since Medicare’s implementation in 1965. The health reform law is already changing the health care system, but the most profound modifications are yet to come. The law will affect otolaryngologists’ practices in many ways, both direct and indirect. Here are some areas of the law to consider.

Drug-Eluting Sinus Stent Hits the Market: May help maintain patency after FESS

Maintaining sinus patency after functional endoscopic sinus surgery (FESS) for chronic rhinosinusitis (CRS) has long been an issue; as many as 23 to 47 percent of patients require revision surgery after FESS. Now, a new drug-eluting, bioabsorbable stent manufactured by Intersect (Palo Alto, Calif.) is being billed as a “breakthrough treatment [that] improves outcomes for sinus surgery,” according to a news release from the company. The device, which received pre-market approval from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in August, has been studied since 2008. It is currently available in Texas, New York, Philadelphia, New Jersey, Atlanta, Ohio and Kentucky.

In Memoriam: Patrick Edgar Brookhouser, MD

Born in Council Bluffs, Iowa, Patrick Edgar Brookhouser, MD, grew up in Missouri Valley, Iowa, where he graduated valedictorian from the local high school. His intellect and natural curiosity earned him numerous academic awards, and he graduated from Creighton University summa cum laude and from Johns Hopkins Medical School as a member of Alpha Omega Alpha.

Aesthetic Parotid Surgery for Benign Parotid Neoplasms

What is the experience in using a superficial muscoloaponeurotic system (SMAS)-platysma flap in facial-aesthetic parotid surgery for benign parotid neoplasms? Background: The surgical management of benign parotid neoplasms has evolved from […]

Concurrent Septoplasty Does Not Affect CRS-Specific Health-Related QOL

Are chronic rhinosinusitis (CRS)-specific health-related quality of life (HRQOL) outcomes affected by concurrent septoplasty performed during endoscopic sinus surgery (ESS) for medically refractory CRS? Background: Septoplasty is commonly performed during ESS. […]

Tonsillectomy Specimen Analysis Not Cost Effective

Is pathological evaluation of routine pediatric tonsillectomy specimens necessary? Background: Although adenotonsillectomy for hypertrophic tonsils and adenoids or chronic tonsillitis remains one of the most common procedures performed in the U.S., […]