Practice Focus » Head and Neck

Practice Alternatives: Three otolaryngologists discuss what it’s like to work under evolving care models

Certain well-established care delivery models for otolaryngologists have long defined the specialty. But, like pharmacology, surgical techniques and treatment therapies, practice models evolve. And while traditional models continue to dominate the scope of most otolaryngology practices, the field is seeing a gradual shift to new constructs. Among them…

Balloon Sinuplasty Use Continues to Evolve: Procedure may complement traditional sinus surgery

Six years after balloon sinuplasty was introduced to the otolaryngology community, it remains an evolving technology. “In my opinion, balloon dilatation has great potential, but it’s still trying to find its proper place in the ENT arena,” said Ralph Metson, MD, clinical professor of otology and laryngology at Harvard Medical School and Massachusetts Eye and Ear Infirmary in Boston.

Personalized Care: Study highlights which patients would benefit from a second round of chemoradiation

Balancing the risks and benefits of concurrent reirradiation and chemotherapy for recurrent head and neck cancers is difficult for physicians at even the most experienced centers. Research recently published in Cancer, however, suggests that selection of patients who may benefit from this therapy should be based on the patient’s previous treatment and the amount of time that has elapsed since initial treatment…

Help or Hoopla?: Surgical robots can benefit otolaryngology

The large, roadside billboards advertised robotic surgery in bright, bold colors, something that struck David Eibling, MD, professor of otolaryngology at the University of Pittsburgh, as “fundamentally wrong.” Hospitals and physicians “should not be offering robotic surgery as a draw for patients,” said Dr. Eibling, who noticed the billboards while traveling through Florida earlier this year, “but rather as a potential tool to benefit the care of the patient.”