UT ORL Update

Martin J. Citardi, MD Professor & Chair   Otorhinolaryngologists, like other physicians, consider innovation to be a core driver in improving the health of patients, since innovation offers the promise of new therapeutic alternatives.   In the ideal world, innovation improves…

Sancak Yuksel, MD Associate Professor   In contrast to adults, the diagnosis of a thyroid nodule in children is rare. In these cases, the workup and treatment generally follows the guidelines set forth by the American Thyroid Association (ATA) and…

Ronda Alexander, MD Assistant Professor   Often in medicine, our ability to treat disease outpaces our reconstructive capacity.  This was long the case in Otolaryngology which for years provided curative surgery but had little to offer patients who suffered cosmetic…

Soham Roy, MD,FACS,FAAP Professor, Director   A tremendous amount of media attention has been paid recently to tonsillectomy surgery in children, partially due to President Obama’s comments on tonsillectomy during the pivotal September 2009 speech to the nation on healthcare…

Martin J. Citardi, MD Professor & Chair   The 2011 edition of Current Procedure Terminology introduces several new codes that will likely have a major impact on the reimbursement for procedures of the paranasal sinuses.   The changes reflect the culmination…

Ron J. Karni, MD Associate Professor & Chief   Over the past decade, a rise in the incidence of oropharynx cancer has been associated with HPV positivity.  This shift in the demographics of head and neck cancer may be related…

Ronda Alexander, MD Assistant Professor   It’s not unusual for a treatment that clinicians anecdotally ‘know’ works to remain unpaid by insurers who classify it as experimental.  This is due, in part, to the wait for research that proves the…

Sancak Yuksel, MD Associate Professor   Two years ago a group of French physicians, Leaute-Labreze et al. reported their spectacular results in treating infantile hemangiomas with oral propranolol, an antihypertensive drug.  This very recent and serendipitous discovery seems to change…

Ron J. Karni, MD Associate Professor & Chief   In patients who are referred for surgical management of primary hyperparathyroidism, a successful outcome may be defined as identification and removal of the adenoma with a commensurate drop in post-operative PTH…

Amber Luong, MD, PhD Associate Professor   This past spring represented one of the worst allergy seasons in Houston. The unusually long cold season delayed some trees from blooming and consequently led to an usually high peak in the number…