Surgery Overview
If surgery is indicated, we use a thorough scheduling process, coordinating your care from pre operative testing through to post operative followup. Some surgeries can be performed in office, with minimal recovery time, such as balloon sinus dilation, ear tubes for adults, laryngoscopy and certain biopsies. Others are performed at local surgery centers or hospitals.
Sinus & Nasal Surgery
Sinuses are cavities inside a person’s skull that are situated around the eyes and nose and within the front of the face. These cavities help to make the skull lighter. They also produce mucus that adds moisture to the nasal passages. The mucus provides a protective layer to help keep out unwanted particles like pollutants, dirt, and infectious organisms. Sinuses are lined with cilia, which are very fine hair-like cells. The cilia help to drain mucus through the passages of the sinuses and out into the nose.
Sinus surgery is a procedure that aims to open the pathways of the sinuses and clear blockages. This is an option for people with ongoing and recurrent sinus infections, for people with abnormal sinus structure, or abnormal growths in the sinus. A doctor will often attempt other treatments and procedures before resorting to surgery. If these don’t work, surgery may be carried out.
Sinus surgery can be done with little discomfort. It is a brief procedure that has few complications.
Facial Plastics & Rhinoplasty
Rhinoplasty alters the external shape of the nose. This service is for patients who would like to improve or enhance the external appearance of their nose, whether from a purely cosmetic standpoint or as the result of an injury. Great care is taken to ensure an aesthetically pleasing and natural looking result.
Otolaryngologists (Ear, Nose & Throat doctors) such as Dr. Rothbaum can surgically change the external appearance of the nose without compromising the structural components of it. Consideration of the underlying nasal anatomy avoids deformities of the nose, or decreased ability to breathe through the nose.
Dr. Rothbaum also performs reconstructive surgery for those patients who have undergone Mohs surgery by their dermatologist. He works closely with a patient’s dermatologist to coordinate care for a patient. This allows a quick transition from excision of a cancerous lesion to reconstruction with aesthetically pleasing results.
Nasal & Ear Reconstruction
Nasal reconstruction may be performed after removal of a mass or lesion from the external nose. This is performed by Dr. Rothbaum in order to close the defect resulting from removal of a lesion on the nose while maintaining the natural shape of the nose as closely as possible. We offer reconstruction of the ear for those patients who have had a mass or lesion removed from this area. As with the nose, great care is taken to maintain as much of the natural shape of the ear as possible upon reconstruction.
Nasal tumors can arise in any part of the nasal cavity, and may affect surrounding structures such as the roof of the mouth, the eyes and the brain. Dr. Shah and Dr. Rothbaum both trained at Johns Hopkins University and are experienced in this procedure. This training has given them detailed knowledge of sinonasal anatomy, which means reduced risk to those important structures that surround the nasal cavity and sinuses.
