Bruce Jenner of the Kardashians with Hearing Loss Brain Tumor Scare

Image by jla0379 from WikipediaThis past weekend, fans of the TV show Keeping Up with the Kardashians found out that Bruce Jenner had what most likely was an asymmetric nerve hearing loss in his high frequencies when he had a hearing test done that lead to a brain tumor scare.What this means is that his ability to hear was much worse in one ear compared with the other... and it was due to nerve damage rather than earwax or fluid in the ears.Whenever...

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Pro Golfer with History of Leukemia and ENT Emergencies

The New York Times published a story about pro golfer Laura Kueny who was diagnosed with acute lymphocytic leukemia at 3 years of age and the harrowing experiences she had to go through to beat the cancer.It certainly brought back memories when I was a resident at Duke University and was filled with dread whenever I got consulted to evaluate a sick child with leukemia undergoing treatment.It is breathtaking just how sick such children are... what...

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Possible Blood Test for Oral Cancer Caused by HPV?

There might be a blood test which can possibly predict individuals who may develop oral cancer caused by HPV years before it happens. HPV, an abbreviation for human papilloma virus, encompasses over 100 different strains among which only a few can cause problems in humans. Specifically, HPV 16 can lead to cervical cancer in woman and oral cancer in both genders.HPV triggered oral cancer is also the most common cause of oral cancer now exceeding even...

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Def Leppard's Guitarist Vivian Campbell's Chronic Cough Due to Lung Cancer

Image from WikipediaA chronic cough that's been going on for months to years is an extremely tough problem to figure out due to the many possible triggers including reflux, reactive airway disease, post-nasal drip, allergies, etc.For Def Leppard's guitarist Vivian Campbell, his chronic cough was ultimately found to be due to Hodgkin's Lymphoma in his chest around his windpipe. In his own word's that he posted on the band's Facebook page (June...

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OSA is a Risk for Sudden Cardiac Death

Mayo Clinic researchers have determined that not only does OSA (obstructive sleep apnea) lead to increased risk of stroke, cardiac arrest, hypertension, vascular disease, etc but it can also increase the risk of sudden cardiac death, usually due to a fatal cardiac arrhythmia. This conclusion was reached after tracking thousands of men and women with sleep apnea for up to 15 years of whom 142 had sudden cardiac deaths or arrests who were resuscitated.These...

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Google Search Now Provides Nutritional Information

It is not uncommon for me to recommend a patient to avoid certain dietary things like salt and caffeine, especially when dealing with tinnitus or Meniere's disease among other problems.The next few questions I often get is "What can I eat than?" What foods contain low salt? etc etc.Though I can refer a patient to a dietitian who knows the answer to many of these questions off the top of the head, Google may now be the next step to take in the future.As...

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Taking Too Much Vitamins May Even Cause Cancer

Image by David Richfield from WikipediaToo much of anything can be harmful... even vitamins which people seem to consider benign regardless of how much is taken. In fact, taking regular large doses of vitamins  (greater than 150% of what is recommended per day) actually INCREASES the risk of cancer.To be clear, vitamins and supplements are great, but only when taking the recommended daily amount in a normal, healthy individual. Supplements...

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What are the Most Common Severe Drug-Induced Anaphylaxis?

Image by James Heilman, MD from WikipediaInteresting paper came out listing the most common severe drug-induced anaphylaxis. From a database of 333 patients who suffered from anaphylaxis,• Anaphylactic shock (76.6%)• Severe systemic reactions (10.5%)• Acute laryngeal edema (9%)• Severe bronchospasm (2.1%)• Fatal in 6 cases (1.8%)There were 270 cases (81.1%) of ambulatory anaphylaxis. Sixty-three cases (18.9%) occurred during anesthesia.84 drugs were...

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At Home Allergy Testing

Recently, a new at-home allergy test can be found on store shelves throughout the United States as well as Amazon.com. It is called "MyAllergyTest" produced by ImmuneTech Corporation and it is FDA approved. The way it works is that you place a few drops of blood into the collection kit which is than mailed to a lab in a pre-paid, pre-addressed envelope.Results are than obtained via internet or by certified mail in about one week.What's tested? Only...

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Sinus Headache [video]

I could describe it... but I think it's better if you just watch the video...

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Dangerous Tongue Patch Procedure for Weight Loss

Image from WikipediaThere is a clinic in Beverly Hills who has been offering a risky "tongue patch" procedure in order to achieve weight loss of about 30 pounds in a single month. Although this clinic is currently the only one providing this "service" in the United States, it has been performed in Venezuela for quite some time.In essence, a mesh made of marlex typically used for hernia repair is surgically sutured to the back area of the tongue and...

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New Movie Trailer for Fauquier ENT YouTube

It has been an amazing experience with how successful our videos have been on YouTube. We now have 60+ different videos of ENT procedures that has been viewed over 247 million times since 2007. We also now have over 12,300 subscribers to our video channel.To celebrate, a movie trailer of sorts has been created to introduce new viewers to the sort of videos they will see and will continue to see from us.Check it out! And... if you haven't yet subscribed to our video channel, please do ...

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Former Bills QB Jim Kelly Diagnosed with Jaw Cancer

Image from WikipediaFormer QB for the Buffalo Bills, Jim Kelly, announced that he has a squamous cell carcinoma of his upper jawbone.He had been experiencing jaw pain since Dec 2012. When the pain failed to resolve with antibiotics, follow-up testing which probably included a CT scan revealed a cystic mass of the maxillary bone. Removal of this nickel-sized cyst in March 2013 revealed cancer.Additional testing reported by Jim Kelly showed that the...

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Can HPV be Caught by Kissing Someone with HPV Throat Cancer?

HPV transmitted by oral sex is the leading cause of oral and throat cancer now. And for spouses/partners of patients diagnosed with HPV throat cancer, the main concern is whether it is "contagious".After all, if HPV is transmittable by oral sex, than it would seem that kissing can also transfer HPV to the partner as well.Well, a small Johns Hopkins study suggests that intimately kissing someone who has HPV oropharyngeal cancer does NOT lead to a...

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Why Is a Nosejob Sometimes Necessary to Resolve Nasal Obstruction?

A very common complaint for a patient to see an ENT surgeon is to resolve nasal obstruction. The most common surgeries to resolve nasal obstruction include septoplasty, adenoidectomy, and turbinate reduction. All of theses procedure are performed within the nasal cavity and does not affect appearance.However, sometimes in order to resolve nasal obstruction, the appearance of the nose MUST change especially if the nostril openings are very narrow....

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Medical Translator Commercial...

I'm sure many patients would like a medical translator like this one shown in this humorous commercial. In case you haven't seen it yet...

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