October 1, 2013 should be on the mind of every physician in the U.S. That is the day when a new diagnostic coding system will be instituted, the first such change since 2003. The implementation’s aftermath is predicted to be anywhere from a normal day at the office to financial Armageddon.
Maintaining sinus patency after functional endoscopic sinus surgery (FESS) for chronic rhinosinusitis (CRS) has long been an issue; as many as 23 to 47 percent of patients require revision surgery after FESS. Now, a new drug-eluting, bioabsorbable stent manufactured by Intersect (Palo Alto, Calif.) is being billed as a “breakthrough treatment [that] improves outcomes for sinus surgery,” according to a news release from the company. The device, which received pre-market approval from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in August, has been studied since 2008. It is currently available in Texas, New York, Philadelphia, New Jersey, Atlanta, Ohio and Kentucky.
Born in Council Bluffs, Iowa, Patrick Edgar Brookhouser, MD, grew up in Missouri Valley, Iowa, where he graduated valedictorian from the local high school. His intellect and natural curiosity earned him numerous academic awards, and he graduated from Creighton University summa cum laude and from Johns Hopkins Medical School as a member of Alpha Omega Alpha.
Oral appliances may work better than CPAP for some patients
What are the risk factors for the frequency and severity of bleeding episodes following tonsillectomy (TE), tonsillotomy (TO) or adenoidectomy (AE)? Background: TE, TO and AE are the most frequent surgeries […]
What is the experience in using a superficial muscoloaponeurotic system (SMAS)-platysma flap in facial-aesthetic parotid surgery for benign parotid neoplasms? Background: The surgical management of benign parotid neoplasms has evolved from […]
Is there a better dental guard than soft mouth guards for use during rigid endoscopy? Background: One risk of rigid endoscopy is tooth injury, most commonly to the maxillary incisors. Standard […]
Are chronic rhinosinusitis (CRS)-specific health-related quality of life (HRQOL) outcomes affected by concurrent septoplasty performed during endoscopic sinus surgery (ESS) for medically refractory CRS? Background: Septoplasty is commonly performed during ESS. […]
Is pathological evaluation of routine pediatric tonsillectomy specimens necessary? Background: Although adenotonsillectomy for hypertrophic tonsils and adenoids or chronic tonsillitis remains one of the most common procedures performed in the U.S., […]
Does tympanostomy tube placement affect vestibular function in young children? Background: One of the most common questions we are asked as otolaryngologists is whether placement of ventilation tubes will help a […]