Performing international surgical outreach missions to help the world’s most disadvantaged patients overcome the disability imposed by disease is an extremely rewarding experience. Missions are challenging, varying in their length, level of working and living conditions and the surgery performed. Despite the rigors of mission work, there has not been a mission where members of the medical team did not find the experience to be life changing.
Laurie McCombs, 53, has dealt with sinus problems nearly all of her adult life. Clogged sino-nasal passages made it difficult for her to breathe at night, and the congestion caused morning pressure headaches. Over-the-counter and prescription antihistamines muted her symptoms but did not address their cause. At the age of 40, she decided to take the advice of friends who had experienced relief with acupuncture. Now McCombs follows the advice of the acupuncturist, who diagnosed her with allergies to dairy products and yeast, by limiting her intake of breads and milk products. She also continues to take loratadine and has found saline irrigation with the neti pot helpful in clearing her sinuses.
A push at the national level to fund more comparative effectiveness research could mean more information for otolaryngologists about which treatments work best for a given condition and in which patients.
People get face-lifts and other types of cosmetic surgery to look better. They exercise so that they’ll feel better. But few people consider a voice lift, which combines surgery and exercise to make them sound better.
The title of this session at the Triological Society’s Combined Sections Meeting held here Feb. 4-7 asked a tough question: Why are otolaryngologists still talking about pediatric tonsillitis, otitis and sinusitis?
The genome project sequenced all three billion base pairs of human DNA, revealing the instructions cells need to build all the proteins in the body. But that was just a warm-up, according to Thomas C. Spelsberg, PhD, of the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn.
Ever since the first fully equipped otolaryngology team was sent to the Air Force Theater Hospital (AFTH) in Balad, Iraq in 2004, an otolaryngologist-head and neck surgeon has become a permanent member of any deployed multispecialty head and neck team, working alongside a neurosurgeon, ophthalmologist and oral and maxillofacial surgeon.
Stroke, muscular dystrophy, Parkinson’s disease, gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD), head and neck cancer, Zenker’s diverticulum—each of these disparate conditions can cause dysphagia.
For many patients with chronic rhinosinusitis, functional endoscopic sinus surgery (FESS) has provided much needed relief from a condition that, by its daily aggravation, can significantly reduce quality of life.
Prior to the introduction of MP3 players, hearing loss among children was estimated at around 12.5 percent. More recent studies, however, estimate that 16 percent of teenagers, or approximately 6 million children, suffer from permanent noise-induced hearing loss (NIHL).