How Long Do Swallowing and Voice Problems Last After C-Spine Surgery ACDF?

I often see patients for swallowing and/or voice difficulties after cervical spine surgery (ACDF) . In the vast majority of cases, reassurance that such "side effects" are not uncommon is the only thing I need to provide after a complete exam. After all, both the voice box and swallowing tube are manipulated and pushed over to one side in order to perform cervical spine surgery from an anterior approach. Check out the video below that illustrates how this happens. Beyond reas…

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Beatboxing Protective of the Vocal Cords?

Beatboxing is a popular vocal percussion technique that incorporates use of the entire vocal tract. Recently, research by Dr. Steven Simms (who I had the pleasure of working with briefly when we were both at Yale University in the 1990s) suggested that beatboxing techniques may actually protect against vocal cord injury. Unlike singing where most of the sustained energy is directed at the vocal cord level, beatboxing makes extensive use of the entire vocal tract, especially the muscles of…

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Acupuncture Helps with Ear Surgery Pain

Researchers at Boston Children's Hospital has found that acupuncture may be effective in diminishing both pain and post-anesthesia agitation in children after ear tube placement determined thru a prospective randomized controlled trial . Typically, children are placed under general anesthesia in order to have this procedure performed and upon waking, are often tearful and agitated. In this study, acupuncture needles were placed at LI-4 and HT-7 immediately after anesthesia, but prior to …

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Bengals Punter Kevin Huber Suffers Jaw Fracture During Game

Courtesy of  Jeffrey Beall  from Wikipedia This past weekend, Cincinnati Bengals punter Mark Huber suffered a  broken jaw  when he was viciously knocked to the ground by Steelers Terence Gavin who lead the tackle with his helmet. [ link ] Given bleeding from the mouth, there is the possibility of an open fracture extending into the mouth, though it could also be from a self-inflected bite when Huber got hit. Unlike most  facial fractures  that do NOT require any surgical intervention,…

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Acupuncture Alleviates Pain After Tonsillectomy in Children

The study showed that acupuncture significantly decreased pain after tonsillectomy in children (2-17 years of age) with reported pain levels before acupuncture of 5.52 (SD=2.28) out of 10 which fell to 1.92 (SD=2.43) after acupuncture. This retrospective research was conducted in 31 patients who underwent a tonsillectomy within a 3 month period of time by Dr. James Ochi , one of only a handful of dual board-certified ENT and medical acupuncture in the United States. No study patients rece…

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Two New Sublingual Allergy Tablets Approved by FDA Advisory Committee

This week, the FDA Allergenic Products Advisory Committee unanimously supported approval for two new sublingual allergy tablets (Oralair and Grastek) that work the same way allergy shots do... but instead is dissolved under the tongue at home instead of a shot in the arm in a medical office. Although both tablets have been available in Europe for some time, final "official" FDA approval may not occur until end of 2014 (or later) for sale/distribution under prescription in the Unite…

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The Nose is a Jungle of Germs (even in Normal Healthy People)!

A fascinating study was conducted by Stanford researchers on the amount and types of germs found inside the nose in normal healthy individuals, whether they are staph carriers or not. In a typical nose in a healthy individual without any symptoms, the following "germs" can be found. Keep in mind that ALL these germs have the potential to cause a pathological sinus infection : • Corynebacterium • Propionibacterium • Escherichia-Shigella • Staphylococcus aureus (including MRSA…

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Lawsuit for Botched Laser Vocal Cord Surgery

In February 2012, an ENT surgeon removed vocal cord polyps using a laser while the patient was asleep with a Medtronic Laser-Shield II endotracheal tube. Unfortunately, the laser perforated the endotracheal tube, ignited the 100% oxygen being used at the time resulting in catastrophic burns to the patient. [ link ] Subsequent lawsuit resulted in favor of the patient who received an award totaling $30 million on 12/5/13. What Happened? Even though an endotracheal tube meant for use with…

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Tracheostomy Fire During Surgery Burning Patient

Image from Wikipedia In early 2012, a surgeon was performing a trach (breathing hole in the neck) when the oxygen used during the procedure caught fire severely burning the patient. Apparently, the surgeon used an electrocautery device which most likely emitted a spark igniting the oxygen being given to the patient leading to the fire. [ link ] What happened? Tracheostomy procedures are performed typically in very sick patients who have been intubated for a prolonged period of time. …

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Nasal Spray Cure for the Common Cold?

Well maybe not cure per se, but at least effective treatment to reduce the duration and severity of the viral cold at least. Austrian researchers have reported on the results of a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial involving 211 patients suffering from early symptoms of the common cold. [ link ] Treatment of the non-placebo group involved using a nasal spray containing carrageenan (a sulphated polysaccharide found in red seaweed/algae) three times per day for 7 days. Cold…

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Does Removing the Adenoids Decrease Risk of Ear Infections? Yes...

A recent meta-analysis has determined that risk of recurrent ear infections is significantly reduced if adenoidectomy is performed in combination with ear tube placement as opposed to ear tube placement alone. When stratified by age, removing the adenoids was found particularly helpful in children older than 4 years of age. Combining results from over 15 studies containing over 71,000 children, the estimated rate of repeat ear tube placement for recurrent ear infections in children who…

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