A new patented genetic test seeks to reduce the number of unnecessary thyroid surgeries. Veracyte is a company that has a patent on Afirma, a genetic testing tool that extracts genetic information from thyroid needle biopsies and compares it to a database of known thyroid cancer-associated genetic mutations. Statistical rigor is applied and the specimen […]
Category Archives: Dr. Aaron Rogers
Exactly when to visit your doctor with cold symptoms can be puzzling. Every week I see patients that can’t seem to wait to come in to let me know they have “been sick for three days”, whereas others “have been fighting this for 3 months” before they seek care. A recent study in the Journal […]
A new study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association disputes benefit provided by antibiotics for sinus infections. In this study patients were randomly given a placebo pill or amoxicillin (a basic first-line antibiotic for sinus infections) for 10 days. They found that there was no difference in symptom improvement at day 3 […]
Bacon — a New Cure for Nosebleeds – ABC News. Wow, crazy. This will do doubt spur a little device/pharma development. While you’re feeling porcine, check out the Iberian’s Pig’s Bacon-infused Old Fashioned.
The latest Radiation Therapy Oncology Group (RTOG 9501/Phase III) seems to be a step closer to sorting out just when and who chemo really helps in the treatment of squamous cell cancer of the head and neck. There are several tumor characteristics that we consider “high risk” for recurrence in head and neck cancer. To […]
Q&A: My three year-old son gets ear infections every fall and spring. Does he need to get ear tubes? -T. in Georgia Thanks, T. Constantly battling with ear infections can take a toll on you as well as your child. We place tubes usually for two separate reasons: #1 fluid behind the eardrum that does […]
Why fingernails-on-a-chalkboard is the worst sound in the world By Melissa Dahl Screeeeeeeech. Even imagining the sound of a person’s fingernails scraping down a chalkboard is tortuous. Now, new research helps suggest why the noise is such a special kind of awful. The frequency of the screechy, scratchy sound ranges between 2000 Hz and 4000 — […]
A change in smelling ability (the sense of “olfaction”) is known as anosmia or parosmia. It is of course very common with the cold, flu, or sinusitis, but can be a real burden if the loss of smell sticks around afterwards. The most common reason for anosmia is swelling in the top of the nasal […]
IntersectEnt.com This week I used the novel steroid-eluting Propel stent in the operating room for the first time. It is a new FDA approved device to improve healing after endoscopic sinus surgery. The device deployed well, and seemed to fit snugly. It is designed to absorb over a thirty-day period. I really like the device […]
From EndocrineWeb: How prevalent is thyroid cancer in the U.S.?. Certainly a diagnosis that is increasing. Increasing so much in fact that we may be changing what our our definition of thyroid cancer is in the next 20 years. Currently we call a lot of lesions “cancer” that are only noticed under the microscope in patients who […]