I have seen a number of case studies covering the effects of balloon sinuplasty, the revolutionary and simple sinus procedure that opens an airway by inflating a tiny balloon. But this video is one of the first I have ever seen that addresses a younger patient – in this case, 11-year-old Jacob Valdez of San … Continue reading Another Case Study Video for Balloon Sinuplasty
View More >>Some of you may recall the increasingly dire warnings I recently issued about using fully sterilized water when a Neti pot is called for. In my most recent post, I describe a nasty amoeba known as Naegleria fowleri, whose effects can include brain damage and, eventually, death. At the time, it was thought that N. … Continue reading Yet Another Reason to Choose Sterile Water
View More >>Breaking: We have a healthcare crisis in this country. Costs are exploding even as a number of key health indictors remain flat or in decline. Several innovative solutions have been proposed to stave off a budgetary crisis, including the recently rolled out Affordable Care Act. And pilot programs continue to seek out new ways to … Continue reading How Should Doctors Spend Their Time?
View More >>Sleep apnea represents a significant health risk, widely associated with diabetes, mood disorders and cardiovascular disease. I’ve written about apnea often in the space because new risk factors are forever surfacing. But one question I haven’t covered in much detail is how you can tell the difference between typical sleep patterns and true apnea. Thankfully … Continue reading How to Spot Obstructive Sleep Apnea
View More >>Here we go again. Experts are predicting a pretty dire fall for those suffering with allergic rhinitis, or seasonal allergies. The usual suspects are to blame – unseasonably warm weather, coupled with a higher incidence of major meteorological events such as floods and hurricanes. All this can cause pollution, dust, ragweed and other particulates to … Continue reading Worst Allergy Season Yet?
View More >>The human brain is a byzantine and startling organ. New avenues of research are constantly arising that demonstrate just how inextricable the mind is from the rest of human health. (See, for example, this novel treatment for phantom limb pain.) One especially active area of brain-body research has is music: many recent studies have demonstrated … Continue reading Recovering From Sinus Surgery? Hit Play
View More >>The PROPEL sinus stent is among the more successful medical devices in recent memory. As simple as it is speedy, the stent is designed to hold open sinus passages following surgery, thus helping prevent one of the most common complications following sinus surgery. I am proud to have been among the first sinus surgeons in … Continue reading The PROPEL Sinus Stent Storms Atlanta
View More >>As an ENT, I am often on the front lines of the medical establishment’s fight against infectious respiratory diseases. This summer, the big story has been Middle East Respiratory Syndrome, or MERS, a disease which has killed several dozen people throughout Asia. Last week I reported on this story, which included some significant breakthroughs in … Continue reading The MERS Mystery Continues to Yield
View More >>It is widely known that sleep disturbances can set off a cascade of health problems. Because sleep is a time when our brains self-regulate, any interruptions during this period can result in mood disturbances, cardiac problems, even glaucoma. The science of sleep has become an active area in medical technology. New devices to combat snoring … Continue reading Unlocking Sleep
View More >>Allergies are awful. Anyone who suffers from the itchiness, dryness and congestion of seasonal rhinitis will tell you that the sneezing is just the tip of the iceberg. What truly makes allergies miserable is the steady flow of histamines splashing through the veins, and the dour mood that often comes with them. Allergies are most … Continue reading Taking the Fight to Seasonal Allergies
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