Poor Quality Sleep Contributes to High Blood Pressure

Obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) is known to cause all sorts of health problems beyond sleepiness. Medical problems include increased risk of stroke, heart attack, peripheral vascular disease, high blood pressure, etc. However, what researchers have recently found is that even if you do not have obstructive sleep apnea , if a person does not have enough "deep sleep" per night resulting in poor quality sleep, that also can increase risk of hypertension. Researchers collected data o…

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Nasonex Sinus Implant for Chronic Sinusitis

The FDA on August 15, 2011 approved of a novel dissolvable sinus implant that slowly releases mometasone furoate steroid (same active ingredient as Nasonex steroid nasal spray) directly onto the sinus mucosa. The spring-like implant is placed at the time of sinus surgery and automatically expands and conforms to the sinus cavity regardless of size and shape. The theory is that by continuously delivering a low dose steroid directly to the sinus cavity, sinus inflammation will decrease an…

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Gluing Cut Blood Vessels Together

Gluing blood vessels together, just like gluing a cut garden hose together, does not seem like a great idea at first, but Stanford researchers just might have figured out how to do this safely and effectively. Over the past century and still currently used today is to hand-sew the cut ends of the blood vessel together using stitches. This method of reattaching blood vessels is time-consuming and tedious, especially when the blood vessels are tiny. In this new glue method which is FIVE ti…

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Actress Maggie Q Suffers From Hearing Loss

American actress Maggie Q of Mission: Impossible III and TV show  Nikita fame suffers from significant hearing loss due to a loud noise exposure from a movie set explosion. Apparently, during shooting of an explosive stunt, her left eardrum was blown out while her right ear suffered mild hearing loss. Such an injury could have been prevented with hearing protection .

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Jay Leno Has a Degree in Speech Therapy

Image by Lee Stranahan from Wikipedia Yes... It is true!!! Jay Leno admired by many for his comic personality had his beginnings as a speech therapist. He graduated in 1973 from Emerson College with a bachelor's degree in speech therapy . In order to help pay for his education, he worked in comedy clubs as well as an emcee in talent shows. Who knew? Reference: Wikipedia

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Earthquake Helps Man Regain Hearing... Perhaps Not!

Fox News reported on Aug 25, 2011 about Robert Valderzak who suffered conductive hearing loss for a few months... until the earthquake shook him and the rest of the East Coast after which he was able to hear. Though this may sound miraculous, conductive hearing loss is one of those reversible type of hearing loss. It is not permanent. Example of conductive hearing loss include: • Earwax • Fluid in the ears •  Ear infection • Eustachian tube dysfunction • Problems with the middle ear…

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Shape of Human Nose Influenced by Climate

The basic function of the human nose is to warm and humidify the air before it reaches the lungs. Because of the wide variation of human habitats from the polar cold and dry air to the equatorial hot and humid weather, one would expect the nose to accommodate to these climate extremes accordingly thru evolutionary pressures. In essence, logically one would expect the nose to change shape to enhance time that air is in contact with the warm and moist nasal interior in cold and dry climates c…

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Illustrated Guide to a PhD (and Perhaps MDs Too!)

Original work " The Illustrated Guide to a PhD " by  Dr. Matt Might . Though geared towards a PhD, this guide can apply to MDs as well. Imagine a circle that contains all of human knowledge: By the time you finish elementary school, you know a little: By the time you finish high school, you know a bit more: With a bachelor's degree, you gain a specialty: A master's degree deepens that specialty: Reading research papers takes you to the edge of …

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New Webpage on Facial Paralysis

Our office has produced a new webpage on the evaluation and management of facial paralysis without any other symptoms. Click here to read more about this condition.

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New Webpage on Bumps or Lesions of the Mouth

Our practice has created a new webpage describing the various bumps and lesions commonly seen in the mouth that leads to a doctor's visit. Such abnormal things seen in the mouth that's discussed include: aphthous ulcer herpetic ulcers pyogenic granuloma fibroma papilloma cancer Click here to read more!

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How To Approach Social Media as a Physician

Last year, I expressed why I bother blogging as a busy surgeon... but this article is more about how to approach social media as a physician. There are numerous advice on the web how to get individuals and businesses involved in social media. Though much of this generic advice is applicable to surgeons and physicians, there are unique limitations as well as opportunities that apply only to such healthcare professionals. I've also reached a few conclusions of my own regarding deve…

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Welding a Cut Nerve Together Using a Laser

Although preliminary, researchers have successfully "welded" a cut nerve together using a laser rather than traditional suture repair. When a nerve is cut, the only way to allow potential for the nerve to regain function is to bring the cut edges together and hope nerve regeneration crosses over. Traditionally, this was pain-stakingly accomplished under the microscope using sutures as thin as a human hair. Using the rabbit facial nerve, researchers used a laser to weld the cut …

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Pregnant Woman Finishes Law Bar Exam While In Active Labor

Kudos to perhaps one of the gutsiest man or woman of sheer intellectual will-power that I know of past or present... and that includes ENT surgeons  ;-) An Illinois lawyer, Elana Nightingale Dawson, in July 27, 2011 was taking the notoriously difficult Law Bar Exam when she went into active labor halfway thru the second day of the exam. Apparently, she went into active labor around 1PM and finished the test early at 4PM after which she was escorted by a test proctor to a hospital across t…

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New Cartilage Can be Grown From Stem Cells Found in Adult Ears

Cartilage is found throughout the body giving shape to noses and ears and cushion for the joints. However when damaged, is not easily replaced which is why synthetic materials is often used to replace damaged cartilage. However, Japanese scientists have grown new cartilage using stem cells found in the ear of all places. Specifically, the perichondrium which lines the cartilage of the ear. Perichondrium is also the layer under which a hematoma develops after ear trauma (ie wrestling) that …

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Possible Cure for Common Cold And Other Viral Infections

For real... at least in mice, but has potential for human application if the promise holds out! MIT researchers have developed a radical new approach to eradicating viral infections no matter what the virus may be... common cold, HIV, Ebola, polio, dengue fever, etc. The usual anti-viral antibiotics in use today target the viral replication process which unfortunately often fails with time as the virus adapts and develops resistance to the medication. The new medication dubbed "DR…

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Dr. Chang Extensively Quoted in Outpatient Surgery Magazine Article

In the August 2011 edition of Outpatient Surgery Magazine , Dr. Chang was extensively quoted for an article describing use of image-guided sinus surgery. In the article titled " The Benefits of Image-Guided Sinus Surgery ," Dr. Chang described the advantages such technology brings to endoscopic sinus surgery. Click here to read the full article. Click  here  to read more about chronic sinusitis as well as watch a  video  of this technology being used.

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Reflux (Acid, Non-Acid, Mixed Types) in Neonates & How It May Also Apply to Adults

A study was published this month in the journal Pediatric Research which described reflux characteristics in neonates, but the findings can certainly be applied to adults as well. What I found gratifying about this study was not so much that reflux was evaluated, but what measurements obtained by  24 hour pH-impedance  were taken which apply just as much to adults as neonates. Just exactly what was measured and what did the study find (at least in neonates suspected of having reflux)? …

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Major League Baseball Bans Under the Tongue Deer Antler Spray Use

On Aug 6, 2011, ESPN reported that MLB players have been issued a warning regarding use of Deer Antler spray administered under the tongue. Deer-Antler spray contains "potentially contaminated nutritional supplements" along with IGF-1 (Insulin Growth Factor) which players have used in the past as an alternative to steroids, especially given it can't be detected in urine samples (only blood testing). What's with Deer-Antler spray specifically? Scientists discovered IGF…

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According to Researchers 35.09 Is Age When Beauty Starts to Fade

©  Luba V Nel  |  Dreamstime Stock Photos My colleague,  Dr. Houtan Chaboki , shared the link to an article in Wmagazine first published in Feb 2011 regarding how Japanese researchers determined 35.09 years is the exact tipping point when beauty starts to fade. 35.09 years is exactly 33 days after the 35th birthday. Hmmmm... I'm not sure about the science here, especially given the researchers work for skincare company SK-II . And proffer their $250 Skin Signature Melting Ric…

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What About a "Voice-Lift" with your Facelift?

I was informed about this interesting concept on ABC news ... With many aging baby boomers tapping into cosmetic surgery in order to look younger, some are taking it a step further to "sound" younger as well with a "voice lift". For some, it's not right to look 10-20 years younger after a facelift but still sound like 70 years old. A hoarse voice with aging is not unusual, but a surgical "voice-lift" is not necessarily the first step that should …

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"Ear Picking" - A Barber Shop Service Health Hazard?

It was only recently that I heard of "ear picking," a barber shop service that is apparently quite common in Asia and recently becoming more popular in the United States in cities with large Asian populations. In essence, ear picking is when a variety of implements - scrapes, picks, and lights - is used within the ear canal.  Why is it popular among Asians? Mainly because of the type of earwax that is produced by Asians which is mainly dry and flaky which causes an itchy sensatio…

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Novel Treatment for Glue Ear?

Glue ear is the layman's term for thick mucoid effusion of the middle ear, usually due to chronic ear infections . The fluid itself is like maple syrup and usually treated with  ear tube placement followed by suctioning as much of the fluid out as possible. However, given there is always some residual present, antibiotic ear drops with steroids is often prescribed. Unfortunately, these patients are at higher risk of requiring repeated sets of tubes after the body spits them out. W…

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