Pop Singer Nathan Sykes Undergoes Vocal Cord Surgery

Nathan Sykes, singer for the boy band The Wanted, underwent vocal cord surgery on April 18, 2013 for a "hemorrhaged nodule" according to media reports.Rather than a nodule, I am suspecting he actually suffered from a hemorrhagic polyp which makes more medical sense. And along with surgery... he is now on voice rest for an indefinite period of time.This condition is the same reason Adele underwent vocal cord surgery in 2011 which mandated a several...

Read More

How the Voice Anatomically Reverberates to Produce Speech

Came across this old school animation showing how sound produced in the voicebox reverberates in the upper airway, mouth, and nasal cavity to produce speech that everybody else hears.To watch what it looks like from the inside, check this video out.Source:FFFFound! 5/23...

Read More

ENT Sued for Wrongful Death from Airway Closure

Media reported on a malpractice case whereby in October 2010, a woman presented to the emergency room at Ochsner Medical Center (Louisiana) with symptoms of sore throat, neck pain, and painful swallowing.A CT neck performed at that time revealed "swelling in her neck and a narrowing at the top of the throat" [link]. Patient was given a strong pain medication to help with her discomfort (presumably a narcotic), admitted into the hospital, and ENT...

Read More

Men with Deeper Voices are More Successful

© Dreamstime Agency | Dreamstime Stock PhotosA Duke University study has found that men with deeper voices not only are more successful, but also make significantly more money. How much more money? $187,000 per year more than men with higher-pitched voices.How much deeper does the voice need to be to make a difference? Apparently 22.1 hertz which is approximately 1/6 the difference between the pitch of James Earl Jones (low-pitch)...

Read More

Scam Tracheostomy in Hospital Leading to Arrests

Image from WikipediaA Chicago hospital owner and a few doctors were arrested in a horrific scandal involving deliberately over-sedating patients thereby ensuring a patient will not be able to come off the breathing machine leading to the excuse needed to perform a tracheostomy [link]. All done in the name for greater profits.This scandal is particularly notable given it has come right at the heels of a New York Times story which reported...

Read More

Pinterest for the Medical Office

For some time now, I've been struggling to figure out how to use Pinterest social media as it applies to a medical practice.Pinterest is a pinboard-style photo-sharing website that allows users to create and manage theme-based image collections such as events, interests, and hobbies. Users can browse other pinboards for images, 're-pin' images to their own pinboards, or 'like' photos.Pinterest is also one of the newest and hottest social media platform,...

Read More

Top 3 Reasons Why Your Child Can't Shake that Cough

Guest Blog Post by Dr. Julie WeiAny parent who has lived with a toddler or preschooler knows the pain of hearing a child’s endless cough, daytime, nighttime, all the time... It seems as if the cough never clears up in a day or two, or after a cold, but may last for weeks. Even if it does clear up, it always seems to return without much warning, and can be more stubborn than your 4 year old about eating vegetables! If you are wondering why cough...

Read More

Cicadas Can Cause Permanent Hearing Loss!

Cicadas are pretty darn ugly... But beyond their ugliness and making cars look pretty messed up... the sound they make is not only irritating, but potentially harmful.Sometime the end of this April 2013, billions of large flying insects called cicadas will make their appearance along with their characteristic stridorous noise. The male cicadas are the ones making this mating noise with "tymbal" soundmakers amplified by large resonance chambers...

Read More

When Your Child Has a Draining Ear

Guest Blog Post by Dr. Julie Wei, MD, FAAPOne of the most common and simple procedures that Otolaryngologists (ear, nose, and throat specialists) perform is that of putting “tubes” in children’s ears. General and pediatric otolaryngologists alike perform thousands of these simple and quick procedures every year, often several times in a single hour! Most children who need and get “tubes” in their ears are toddlers and those in preschool age. What...

Read More

Dr. Chang Quoted in Washington Post Regarding Hearing Damage from Noise

The Washington Post on April 8, 2013, published a story about how loud noises can lead to hearing loss, even in young teenagers.Dr. Chang was liberally quoted throughout this informative article."...That’s according to Christopher Chang, an ear, nose and throat doctor at Fauquier ENT Consultants in Warrenton, who sees patients every day with hearing-related issues. “What he’s hearing is way too loud, because it’s concentrated directly into the ear...

Read More

Surgical Video Recording: How I Do It

A number of people have asked how I go about video-recording surgeries... Beyond having hospital administration on board as well as obtaining appropriate consents from all involved parties, the technical aspects are actually quite straightforward.I have tried all sorts of methods in order to obtain the closest and most vivid images possible. I tried cameras mounted on the surgical headlight which did work... but there was too much motion artifact...

Read More

New Video on Thyroid Surgery and Its Complications

A new video has been created regarding how the thyroid gland is removed along with potential complications that may occur with this surgical procedure.This video creation was a collaborative effort between myself and Dr. Henson, the general surgeon who performed the actual operation portrayed in the video. Assistance by Robin Earl and the surgical staff at Fauquier Hospital were invaluable as well.Read more about the surgery here or watch the vi...

Read More

Dr. Chang Mentioned on NBC News Regarding Sound of One's Voice

Dr. Chang was mentioned today in a NBC News article on their popular Body Odds section. The article entitled "why you hate the sound of your own voice" describes why people sound and often dislike the way their voice sounds on a recording.What we hear when we speak, however, is air- and bone-conducted sounds. Vibrations from our vocal cords directly reach the cochlea. Our skulls deceive us by, in fact, lowering the frequency of these vibrations along...

Read More

Why Do Culture Results Take So Long? [video]

One of the most common questions I get after obtaining a culture of pus whether from the ear or the nose is how long it takes before the culture results are back... especially when MRSA is a concern.Does it take a few hours? 24 hours? Days?Disappointingly, it can take up to 5+ days if not longer.You want to know why?Well, rather than explaining, watch a 6-minute video that explains the numerous steps that goes into providing a diagnosis after a culture has been obtained... in this particular case, ear drainage though the same steps...

Read More