Woman Survives Live Grenade Lodged in Face

A 32 year old Mexican woman, Karla Flores, survived extraction of a live grenade from between her jawbones. Apparently, she was minding her own business when she was knocked out after something hit her face. Read report here . In the hospital, it was realized that rather than a stone as initially thought, it was a live grenade! Due to fear of it going off, 3 volunteer doctors and one nurse surgically removed the live grenade in an open field under direction of two explosive experts fr…

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Cat with Two Faces (Literally)

Frank and Louie are an extremely rare type of cat known as a Janus cat. Born with two faces, he (they) are the longest living Janus cat in existence. Watch video here .

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Cigarettes Contain Radioactive Polonium

Cigarettes are known to cause cancer... But we now know there's another reason why... they contain radioactive material, specifically polonium-210! Tobacco companies also have known about it since 1959. As reported in ABC , historical documents reveal tobacco companies not only knew about the radioactive substance, but studied it, then refused to do anything about it! They figured out that: 1) It caused "cancerous growths" in the lungs of smokers, 2) Calculated how much…

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Not All Spinning Motions Cause Dizziness

In one of the stranger research projects I've encountered in awhile, French scientists reported on why in the sport of discus throwing, athletes tend to feel more dizzy than those who hammer throw. Whether discus or hammer throwing, both require spinning on part of the athlete before letting the discus/hammer go for long distances. 59% report dizziness with discus throwing, but none with hammer throwing. Why? This occurred even among athletes who did both sports eliminating indivi…

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HIPAA Allows for Regular Email Communication Between Patients and Physicians

There is a widespread mistaken belief that HIPAA prohibits physicians from communicating with patients using regular un-encrypted email as well as with other physicians about patient care. HIPAA, for those who don't know, is a law that requires patient information to be kept private with safeguards. Email (such as yahoo, gmail, aol, etc) is not considered a secure form of communication. However, HIPAA does allow for such un-secured email communication under certain circumstances. I q…

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MRI Scans CAN Cause Vertigo

Researchers at Johns Hopkins published a study that reports that MRI scans CAN cause feelings of dizziness induced by magnetic fields causing motion of the electrically charged fluid of the inner ear. In both ears, there is a "gyroscope" called the labyrinth. Whenever the head turns or a force like gravity is exerted on this system, fluid moves within which tells the brain that motion has occurred. It's much like looking into a glass of water and based on the way the water t…

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Oral Exam Using a Finger

For a good physical exam, physicians use their senses (eyes, ears, nose) to detect disease processes that may not necessarily be obvious to a lay person. Beyond these obvious senses, fingers and hands are also utilized to feel for unusual bumps or masses that may not be obvious to the naked eye. Take a neck mass for example. Neck masses may not be necessarily visible, but by feeling the neck, may become obvious. To use an analogy, a bowling ball under a mattress may not necessarily be obviou…

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United Kingdom Ends $17 Billion Electronic Medical Records Initiative

The Wall Street Journal on Sept 23, 2011 reported that the United Kingdom will scrap the entire electronic medical records (EMR) initiative that has been 9 years in the making with nearly 6.4 billion pounds already spent. That action was hinted at back in August 2011 after a scathing parliamentary report stating the initiative to be wasteful and incapable of delivery. I'm not surprised... It's hard enough to get a group of doctors in one hospital to agree with a treatment plan …

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New Webpage on Vocal Cord Granuloma

Given the sudden interest patients have expressed in vocal cord granulomas ever since singer John Mayer announced a hiatus in concerts due to his voicebox granuloma, a new webpage has been developed to describe this unusual mass as well as treatment options. Read all about it here !

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Singer John Mayer Diagnosed with Vocal Cord Granuloma

On Sept 19, 2011, media reported that singer John Mayer has been forced to cancel all upcoming concert plans and delay release of a new album due to a voicebox growth. This growth was described as a " granuloma ." What exactly is a granuloma? It is a benign mass commonly due to repetitive mild vocal trauma resulting in exuberant growth of a specific region of the voicebox lining. To be more precise, rather than the vocal cord itself, granulomas are most commonly found on th…

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Tongue Acrobatics

Impressive tongue acrobatics... Not much more to say! Watch the video here .

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World's Longest Human Tongue

The longest human tongue ever recorded is that of Stephen Taylor and measures 9.8 centimetres (3.86 in). Apparently, his tongue has not stopped growing even though he is a grown adult. The longest tongue for a female is that of Los Angeles resident Chanel Tapper whose tongue measures 3.8 inches! Her tongue is also quite acrobatic as shown in this YouTube video .

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Another Rock Singer With Injured Voice

On Sept 16, 2011, the Stone Temple Pilots had to cancel their tour because their lead singer Scott Weiland was placed on voice rest due to damaged vocal cords at risk for permanent damage. Specifically, the doctors at University of Cincinnati Voice Health Center determined that he had scarring on his left vocal cord and a tremendously inflamed right vocal cord. The left vocal cord scarring is likely from past vocal trauma that did not heal properly and is now permanently damaged whereas th…

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World Record Large Ears

On September 2011, the Guinness Book of World Records announced the longest ears of any dog belongs to a Coonhound named Harbor. His magnificent ears measured 12.25 inches and 13.5 inches long (left and right respectively). I wonder how much earwax he produces!

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Keychain Emergency Airway Device (Video)

Health professionals who know how to perform cricothyroidotomy to obtain an emergency airway in someone who is obstructing can appreciate a nifty keychain device called LifeStat . LifeStat can be carried around and immediately utilized to perform emergency cricothyroidotomy in any setting. Watch a video here to see how it works. It can be purchase from Shippert Medical for $145 here . Reference: Utilization of the LifeStat emergency airway device . Ann Otol Rhinol Laryngol. 2008 Ja…

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Smoker's Kids Have More Ear Infections

Although not entirely new news... a new review paper which collated the results of 61 past studies has reaffirmed that smoking around kids increases their risk of ear infections  dramatically. Just how much? Kids living with a smoker had a: 37 percent higher risk of ear infections and hearing problems 62 percent higher risk of ear problems if the household smoker was their mom 86 percent more likely to undergo ear surgery than kids without secondhand smoke exposure Read a MSNBC…

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100 Years of Style and Dance

A random post for those who appreciate dance and fashion...

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Carbon Dioxide Helps with Nasal Allergies

MSNBC reported recently that a shot of carbon dioxide gas into the nose can help with allergies based on preliminary findings funded by Capnia , a company that makes the product. Upside : Symptoms of nasal allergies improved within 30 minutes. No liquid is involved... just carbon dioxide gas. Downside : Lasts only 4 hours 80% has nasal discomfort after use 25% became teary eyed 14-20% developed headaches My take? I'll pass on this drug... There are already good drugs with …

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Intranasal Treatment for Clogged Ears

A common cause of clogged ears with inability to pop them easily is due to eustachian tube dysfunction . There are a number of ways to address this annoying problem, but one of the first steps to try is intranasal medications whether in nasal spray form or nasal drop form. The whole idea behind intranasal treatment is the fact that the ears are connected to the back of the nose via a tunnel called the eustachian tube. Watch video explanation . Normally, when the ears are popped (also kno…

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Best Ballpoint Pen for Emergency Cricothyroidotomy?

I recently blogged about a man who choked to death on an airplane and the impossibility of saving this man's life with a surgical airway like a cricothyroidotomy without a sharp object around inside the plane (ie, knife or scalpel). I also stated that "Some surgeons would argue a strong, stiff ball-point pen could have been used to perform the cricothyroidotomy, but as someone who has performed a dozen emergency cricothyroidotomies and tracheotomies in the past, even under the b…

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Beating Heart in a Box

With heart and lung transplants, the current standard is to transport the heart (or any other organ to be transplanted) inside an icebox cooler on ice. It's the same kind of icebox cooler you would use to take on a picnic. Think about it... You can buy a human organ transportation container off of Amazon.com for $39. In fact, I would not be surprised if some medical centers purchased such icebox coolers from Amazon.com . Well, a company called TransMedics is aiming to elevate organ tr…

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The Healthcare Dilemma Simplified

As an otolaryngologist in private practice, I have observed from the sidelines the healthcare crisis that is brewing in our nation, being debated in Congress, and bemoaned by fellow colleagues. Being a simple man, I see the essence of the healthcare problem being summarized in one sentence: "How to deliver low-cost, high-quality healthcare cheaply." Being a simple man, I also realize that this statement is nearly impossible to accomplish for something as complex as healthcare d…

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Man Chokes to Death During Air Flight... Preventable?

Image courtesy of digitalart /  FreeDigitalPhotos.net News media reported on Sept 5, 2011 about Robert Rippingale who choked to death during a flight from Singapore to New Zealand. He was with his girlfriend who noted he was shaking and turning blue after eating an in-flight meal. A doctor and two nurses attempted to save him though unsuccessfully. The article reports that CPR was performed to try and save the man, but the obvious question is whether a Heimlich maneuver was done. Obvious…

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Best Medication for Dizziness

So how would one go about figuring out the best medication for dizziness due to motion-sickness leading to nausea and even vomiting? Well, step 1... Put a bunch of people in a machine and figure out the necessary motions that will cause dizziness. Step 2... Do the same thing, but this time, put people on different medications and figure out what works the best. Sound crazy? Well it has been done by the friendly folks at NASA . Why would they perform such unpleasant experiments? It…

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Surgery Without Wires

Surgery is messy... and I don't mean in terms of blood and guts... What I mean are wires, cables, tubing, etc. Let's take a routine tonsillectomy and adenoidectomy for example... Electric cord for the operating table Electric cord for the anesthesia machine Electric cord for the surgeon's headlight Light cord from the surgeon's headlight to the lightbox Breathing circuit tube from the patient to the anesthesia machine Carbon dioxide outflow tube from the patient t…

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Movie Sets are Dangerous to Ears!

First it was Maggie Q, and now I learn that there are other celebrities with hearing loss due to movie set loud noise exposure. Leonard Nimoy (Spock of Star Trek fame) suffers from right ear tinnitus due to hearing damage from a special effects explosion during filming of Star Trek episode "Arena". Similarly, Steve Martin suffers from tinnitus due to hearing damage sustained during filming of a pistol-shooting scene for "¡Three Amigos!" in 1986. Here is a full l…

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Hearing Loss Can Can Accelerate Brain Volume Loss

Everyone has heard of the saying "If you don't use it, you will lose it." Well, when it comes to hearing loss , that seems to apply to not just hearing per se, but the actual structure of the brain! Researchers studied MRI scans of older individuals (ages 60-77) with hearing loss , they found less brain volume in the auditory cortex of the brain which is not entirely surprising. What was surprising was that there was less brain activity on functional MRI scans when these in…

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