Dr. Chang will be presenting a Grand Rounds lecture at Prince William Hospital on July 3, 2008. CME credit available. The title of the lecture is "ENT Pearls for the Non-ENT".
Sunday, 22 June 2008
Thursday, 12 June 2008
In our office, we often see patients who have ear problems who are planning to fly. Here are a few facts to consider.
1) IF you can pop your ears easily, there shouldn't be a problem with flying.
2) IF you have a hole or a tube in your eardrum, there shouldn't be a problem with flying.
3) IF you have problems popping your ears and your flight is not for a few weeks to months, read this webpage and follow the suggestions mentioned. You can watch a video as well.
4) IF you are going to fly soon (within 1 week) and have trouble popping your ears, contact your local ENT to get a tube placed in your eardrum. Why? Your middle ear is like a balloon and with pressure changes, the eardrum stretches out and causes excruciating ear pain known as ear squeeze. A tube in your ear is just like putting a hole in a balloon. Just like pressure can't build up in a balloon with a hole, pressure can't build up in your ears with a tube.
An easy way you can predict if you are going to have problems with your ears when flying is to go swimming into the deep end of the pool (>5 feet). If you are able to pop your ears as you swim deeper into a swimming pool, you generally shouldn't have any problems flying.
If you live near the mountains (Shenandoah or Rocky Mountains), take a drive up the mountains and see if you can clear your ears with the gradual elevation changes. Alternatively, if you live near a very tall skyscraper (ie, Empire State Building or Chicago Sears Tower), ride it to the top and see if you have problems popping the ears.
Spraying Afrin into your nose 30 min before ascent and descent will help with ear popping and may be something you may want to bring with you when flying to prevent problems. Do NOT use afrin daily for more than 3 days otherwise one may become addicted to it... a rebound phenomenon known as rhinnitis medicamentosa.
Read a USA Today article on this problem here.
Listed below are some products that may be helpful to get your ears popping:
Friday, 6 June 2008
Fauquier ENT has produced a new video showing how coblation turbinate reduction is performed. It has been uploaded on to our YouTube homepage. Click here to view the video or watch it below.
Coblation turbinate reduction is a painless way to improve nasal breathing quickly without need for medications. This procedure can be performed in an office setting and takes no more than 10 minutes to perform. There is minimum downtime and most people complain of minimal or no pain.
To read more about this procedure, please visit our webpage describing this procedure further.
www.TurbinateReduction.com
Wednesday, 21 May 2008
There are many factors that cause nasal obstruction, nasal congestion, and vasomotor rhinnitis in patients. Some of these factors include allergies, deviated septum, and adenoid hypertrophy. However, what many people may not realize is that turbinate hypertrophy is also a significant cause of these symptoms. A new webpage has been uploaded to our website regarding a procedure to address turbinate hypertrophy to alleviate nasal symptoms. This procedure known as turbinate reduction can be performed under local anesthesia using coblation in an office-setting with minimal downtime. Click here to read more about it.
Well, at least his face from 2 angles. The video appeared on 5/20/08 on the 10PM NBC local evening news in Dallas, TX. Dr. Chang was present in the OR with Dr. Thrasher while the TV crews were filming. Watch the full footage below.
This video was later nationally syndicated and shown throughout the United States including Washington DC a few weeks later.
Friday, 16 May 2008
Fauquier ENT is offering a relatively new procedure called base of tongue reduction (as well as lingual tonsillectomy) using coblation for patients suffering from severe obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) due to an enlarged base of tongue. For many patients, an enlarged base of tongue is a significant contributing factor leading to severe sleep apnea. This area contributes to obstruction by falling backwards against the back wall of the throat during sleep leading to airway closure.
Although a number of procedures have been offered to minimize this problem in the past such as:
• hyoid advancement
• genioglossal advancement
• repose procedure
• mandibular advancement
None of these procedures directly addresses the tongue bulk/size itself. Rather, these procedures indirectly attempts to address the base of tongue by moving and anchoring the entire tongue forward. As such, these procedures only marginally improves OSA and usually only lasts for a temporary period of time.
Other traditional OSA surgeries such as:
• tonsillectomy
• adenoidectomy
• UPPP (uvulo-palato-pharyngoplasty)
• septoplasty
• turbinate reduction
These address obstructions only at the nasal and oral cavity level of the airway. Base of tongue is BELOW these levels and located immediately above the voicebox (where air enters the windpipe to get to your lungs). As such, many patients who have undergone these surgeries often find themselves still suffering from OSA. Furthermore, enlarged base of tongue is the main cause of OSA in skinny people.
Click here to read more about base of tongue reduction/lingual tonsillectomy offered only at Fauquier ENT of Northern Virginia.
Non-surgical methods to resolve obstructive sleep apnea due to large base of tongue:
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