Category: News

Performing auditory brainstem implant surgery is very challenging.

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Laryngotracheal disorders can lead to stenosis of the airway, requiring highly complex reconstruction. The area involved is so small anatomically that endoscopy is difficult and open surgery is even more delicate, requiring a high level of expertise. With seven full-time surgeons performing the most challenging procedures, the University of Cincinnati Adult Airway Reconstruction Program is

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Velopharyngeal insufficiency (VPI) affects 30% of children with structural abnormalities of the oral and nasal cavities.1-3 In the majority of cases where VPI is caused by cleft palate, the VPI persists despite the surgical repair. (Approximately 4,200 babies are born annually with cleft lip and cleft palate.4) The aim of a new study being conducted

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A facial nerve injury results in significant functional deficits and cosmetic deformities. Better methods are still needed to improve facial nerve healing resulting from injuries.1 To further explore this clear need to improve facial nerve healing, a team at the University of Cincinnati Medical Center examined the use of magnesium filaments to assist in peripheral nerve

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Many clinicians used to think that cochlear implantation was only appropriate in patients with profound hearing loss, because it was believed that cochlear implants (CIs) were unable to preserve any hearing.

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Increasingly, physicians are treating ear diseases locally via injectable medications rather than systemically, with the goal of avoiding side effects that can accompany oral medication treatments.

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Historically, voice patients have been evaluated by a physician and subsequently referred to a speech language pathologist (SLP) who may not work in the same facility, and who the physician may have never met.1 However, University of Cincinnati Medical Center is one of just a few academic medical centers nationwide to offer a state-of-the-art Voice and

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Sublingual immunotherapy (SLIT) involves dosing the allergen under the tongue of the patient in controlled amounts, often over a period of several years, in order to increase tolerance to a particular allergen and diminish symptoms brought on by exposure to that allergen.

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A variety of topical products are available to surgeons to address postsurgical scarring; however, a consensus opinion about treatment superiority has not been reached.

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“In the last 15 years, head and neck microvascular reconstruction has become the gold standard for any complex reconstruction,” said Yash J. Patil, MD, associate professor of otolaryngology, and director of the adult airway reconstruction program, University of Cincinnati (UC) Medical Center. According to Dr. Patil, who initiated the microvascular program at UC Medical Center

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The middle cranial fossa (MCF) approach for operating on acoustic neuromas (ANs) is an excellent treatment option for patients who still have hearing and whose tumors are small- to medium-size (< 2 cm). “MCF has a low risk of intracranial complication, offers excellent facial nerve outcomes and is arguably the best surgical procedure to preserve

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For decades, oropharyngeal carcinoma has been associated with patient behaviors such as smoking and drinking, but in recent years, scientists have recognized another cause of the disease, the human papillomavirus (HPV). The incidence of these types of oropharyngeal cancer has been dramatically increasing, according to a recent study.1 In fact, the Centers for Disease Control

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Principal investigator Trisha Wise-Draper, MD, PhD, assistant professor of medicine, division of hematology/oncology, at the University of Cincinnati Medical Center, says she is “hoping for at least a 10% increase in the survival rate” for patients with head and neck squamous cell cancer in a Phase II trial of pembrolizumab being led by University of

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Surgical simulation has emerged as a proven training tool with significant potential for refreshing previously acquired skills and learning more advanced procedures and techniques.1 As surgical simulation technology has evolved, one of its earliest users, the University of Cincinnati Medical Center has kept pace with these changes. The UC Medical Center Department of Otolaryngology –

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Sid Khosla, MD, Associate Professor of Otolaryngology at the UC Health Performance and Professional Voice Center, along with Liran Oren, PhD, Assistant Professor in Otolaryngology, have collaborated with Ephraim Gutmark, PhD, Professor of Aerospace Engineering at UC, to conduct a research study to characterize the effects of vortices and tissue elasticity on vocal fold vibration and acoustics in voice disorders.

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In-office laser treatments for conditions such as recurrent respiratory papillomatosis (RRP) “offer patients a very time-efficient alternative to surgery,” said Rebecca J. Howell, MD, associate director of the UC Health Voice and Swallowing Center located at the University of Cincinnati Medical Center in Ohio. Dr. Howell performs the in-office treatment of RRP, a chronic viral

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Otolaryngologists at the University of Cincinnati (UC) Medical Center are focused on achieving high quality care through their morbidity, mortality and improvement conferences by leveraging macro level EMR data while zooming in on a small number of high-yield cases that drive specific performance improvement opportunities. Ryan Collar, MD, MBA says, “we are beginning to put

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A new study shows promise in identifying head and neck cancer patients who are at risk for unplanned 30-day hospital readmission. Ryan M. Collar, MD, MBA, assistant professor, director of quality, otolaryngology head and neck surgery, facial plastic and reconstructive surgery, at the University of Cincinnati (UC) Medical Center, is the lead author. The project

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Clinicians and researchers at the University of Cincinnati Medical Center, led by Lee Zimmer, MD, PhD, Director of Rhinology and Anterior Skull Base Surgery in the Department of Otolaryngology, Head and Neck Surgery, initiated a recent study on sinonasal QOL after transnasal endoscopic approach to the sella with limited resection of nasal cavity and sinus tissues.

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Standardized dosing of sublingual immunotherapy remains an area of intense study and Dr. Alfred Sassler and his team at the University of Cincinnati Medical Center expect to contribute to that literature in the near future.

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As many as 50% of patients with obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) are unable or unwilling to adhere to ongoing continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) therapy prescribed for the condition, reports David L. Steward, MD, Professor of Otolaryngology at the University of Cincinnati.

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Anosmia is rarely a life threatening disorder, however, the loss of olfactory function is associated with serious risks and hazards.1 Individuals with impaired olfactory function may not be able to detect important warning odors such as those caused by gas leaks, volatile chemical fumes and fires, and can therefore place themselves at an increased risk

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Skull base surgeries are some of the most delicate procedures surgeons can perform, so every advantage is welcomed. “As skull base surgeons, we always have to adapt in order to push the frontier of medicine forward,” says Ravi N. Samy, MD, Director of the Neurotology Fellowship and Associate Professor of Otolaryngology, University of Cincinnati Medical

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Digital technology has grown exponentially since its introduction for hearing aids around 1995, says Stephanie Lockhart, MA, audiology director, University of Cincinnati (UC) Medical Center. As UC’s audiology program (as it is not its own department) helps patients keep current with advances in hearing devices, research is also contributing to improved hearing for patients, such

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Cytomegalovirus (CMV), a common congenital infection that occurs in approximately 1% of all U.S. births, is one of the leading causes of sensorineural hearing loss.1 While antiviral medications can stabilize hearing loss if administered shortly after birth, infants are not often screened for CMV. “Newborns who test positive for CMV and are treated with an

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Thyroid surgery has been traditionally used to diagnose cancer in the presence of cytologically indeterminate thyroid nodules.

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Establishing quality improvement measures is the impetus for a clinical database for the Voice and Swallowing Center at the University of Cincinnati (UC) Medical Center. The national move to physician quality reporting systems (PQRS) requires establishment of outcome measures for physician and practice audits, as well as future incentive payments and penalties. According to Rebecca

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