WNY Living | Dr Paul Young MD | ENT Buffalo NY
Janet Snyder: From Allergy problems to tonsillitis, otolaryngologists also knows as ENT’s, treat problems of the ears, nose and throat. Here to shed light on those problems and what can be done is Dr Paul Young. Thank you so Much for being here
Dr Young: It’s good to be here.
JS: I’m excited to talk to you about what an ENT does and who you treat, we’ll start there and we’ll talk about the procedure you’re able to do
Dr: So ENT physicians really treat comprehensively the conditions that affect the ear, nose and throat. From children to adults, and they treat them both medically and surgically in those areas.
JS: When should somebody see an ENT vs trying a lot of different medications?
Dr: So, primarily you see a primary care physician, a family doctor, an internist, and if they determine that when they’ve reached the limits of what they do, then they would send you to a specialist.
JS: So this time of year it feels like everyone is dealing with a sinus issue or sinusitis. What are the conventional treatments?
Dr: So traditionally there are medical treatments and surgical treatments. The medical treatments are vast and they include antibiotics, and those kind of things. When they don’t work, we move up into surgical treatments.
JS: You’ve got a very non-invasive surgical treatment that you do called a balloon sinus dilation that everyone’s talking about.
Dr: I do it under local anesthesia in the office with the patient fully awake and fully comfortable throughout the procedure.
JS: So tell me about what the surgery is, or the procedure
Dr: So the sinuses in our face they have openings that are drainage pathways, and they are narrowed or not working properly, we want to open those up. So, traditionally we would go to the operating room and those openings would be opened up with surgical tools. So in the office I can do it with a dilation balloon that goes into the natural opening and opens up or dilates the natural openings.
JS: The natural openings of our sinuses, is it sometimes theyre just smaller than what they should be, and we just need to open them?
Dr: Absolutely, there’s multiple conditions that can make them smaller, rather it be allergy ,the way they form, or whether there’s other cells around them that can narrow the natural drainage pathways.
Dr: Ok so I imagine coming to see you, you would decide whether this procedure is right for you. Is it done in children and adults?
Dr: In children it is done, but more under anesthesia in the operating room, but in adults we can definitely do it in the office very comfortable under local anesthesia.
JS: After you do a procedure like that, how soon after, because people who have sinus issues, its always with them, its always like, pain. So how soon after do you see that kind of relief.
Dr: So there’s a variability, but I can tell you there are some pts that instantaneously feel the relief. Just the most recent procedure I did in my office the patient stood up from the chair and said “wow, I can breathe and I can smell”
JS: And so I would imagine it’s like a major game changer to get this type of procedure some
Dr: Absolutely, especially since they can go back to work the next day
JS: With somebody who’s got a lot of different sinus issues, if medicine, if antibiotics aren’t working anymore, should they make an apt to see you as an ENT?
Dr: Absolutely, I’d be happy to see them
JS: Why is it in WNY, I feel like we have more ear, nose, throat problems than other area, is it because the differences in temperature and the climate change?
Dr: Certainly when the seasons change the certain allergens that we have in WNY do predispose people to more sinus issues, certainly we get more upper respiratory issues, colds and such, which predispose people for sinus issues.
JS: I love the English accent mixed with the Buffalo accent. Thanks for stopping by today