Vitamin D Deficiency Associated with BPPV Occurrence and Recurrence

There is increasing evidence that Vitamin D deficiency may be a risk factor for BPPV as well as its recurrences. BPPV is a condition whereby a person may suffer from brief but severe vertiginous attacks with head position changes that occur due to displaced otoliths (calcium crystals) within the inner ear. Although easy to treat with precisely defined head position maneuvers (, i.e. Epley maneuver for posterior canal BPPV ), its occurrence let alone recurrence can be alarming for patients.…

8/17/2017 0

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Spit Test to Monitor for Oral Cancer

Image courtesy of marin at  FreeDigitalPhotos.net HPV oral cancer is an increasingly common cancer afflicting heterosexual individuals. The main way of diagnosing is by biopsy after an abnormal finding on oral examination . The main way of determining whether the cancer has come back after treatment is also by regular oral examinations. However, Johns Hopkins researchers may have developed a "spit" test that can detect whether oral cancer may have recurred after treatment befor…

8/23/2015 0

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Why Would a Zenker's Diverticulum Recur After Surgical Treatment?

Zenker's diverticulum is an extremely rare disorder whereby a pouch develops in the throat leading to food and liquids getting caught causing symptoms of swallowing difficulties and food regurgitation. One of the best ways to address this rare condition is a procedure called endoscopic staple diverticulostomy (ESD) . Unfortunately, with any Zenker's treatment including ESD, there is a small percentage (~10%) that the Zenker's diverticulum recurs typically within one year of tr…

5/29/2013 1

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John Mayer Undergoes Second Vocal Cord Surgery

On August 27, 2012, media reported that grammy-award winning singer  John Mayer  underwent vocal cord surgery for a 2nd time in an attempt to permanently remove a recurrent vocal cord granuloma. Fans know that in September 2011,  John Mayer  announced the cancellation of a number of concerts as well as an album due to the development of a  vocal cord granuloma  of his voicebox. Read a  blog article  about this. On Oct 20, 2011,  he underwent surgery  for the first time to remove the …

9/11/2012 0

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Singer John Mayer Has Recurrence of Vocal Cord Granuloma

In September 2011, grammy-award winning singer  John Mayer  announced the cancellation of a number of concerts as well as an album due to the development of a  vocal cord granuloma  of his voicebox. Read a  blog article  about this. On Oct 20, 2011,  he underwent surgery  to remove the granuloma and was on strict voice rest for several weeks with plans to resume live singing in the first quarter of 2012. Unfortunately, on March 9, 2012, it was found that his vocal cord granuloma has r…

3/12/2012 0

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