Four pairs of experts squared off at the Triological Society Combined Sections Meeting in a session of mini-debates over limits on training of residents, treatment of Zenker’s diverticulum, implantable hearing aids and the best approach to oropharyngeal cancer.
The right way to restore a patient’s nose after cancer depends on subtle factors: The shape, the depth, and the precise location of the wound all dictate how to go about the reconstruction, according to experts at the Triological Society Combined Sections Meeting.
Hemangiomas in pediatric patients pose a special challenge because the proper way to proceed might not be clear immediately, according to panelists at the Triological Society Combined Sections Meeting.
More and more options are emerging to help patients improve their hearing, a group of aural rehabilitation panelists said on Jan. 27 at the Triological Society Combined Sections Meeting.
Doctors Rima and Robert DeFatta, married otolaryngologists who work at Sacred Heart Hospital in Eau Claire, Wisconsin, spend about an hour each day dealing with insurance-related hassles. About 20 percent of their patients are un- or underinsured, so the two physicians spend time dashing off letters to insurance companies, re-jiggering treatment plans and helping patients access available resources. Recently, Rima DeFatta, MD, had to figure out how to diagnose a patient who presented with symptoms that suggested possible neurologic involvement.
The American Board of Otolaryngology is preparing to launch the final component of its maintenance of certification (MOC) program this year. In addition to the goals of lifelong learning and quality improvement, the last of this four-part program should help otolaryngologists comply with performance incentives from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS).
A new treatment algorithm for advanced otosclerosis, based on the clinical experience of Dutch investigators and supported by a literature review they conducted, suggests that the window for successful cochlear implantation (CI) in patients with severe disease is narrower than some otolaryngologists may believe .
As the physicians of the baby boomer generation approach their golden years, many have achieved career and financial success and are looking for an arrangement that will allow them to ease into retirement. While you may not be ready to hang up your white coat permanently, you may be interested in working fewer hours and taking less call. Retirement requires more than simply removing your name from the office door, however. If you are a physician nearing retirement, it is important that you plan, discuss and make contractual agreements that will allow you to accomplish your goals and changing needs.
The opportunity to gain more surgical experience as a facial plastics fellow was enticing to Hussein Samji, MD, MPH, as he finished his residency at Stanford University School of Medicine in Palo Alto, Calif., in 2010. But after exposure to some of the more mundane aspects of the subspecialty during screening interviews, Dr. Samji said he knew it wasn’t the career path for him.
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.