My Blog http://www.entandmore.com/blog.html en-us Fri, 25 May 2012 12:07:13 -0500 Fri, 25 May 2012 12:07:13 -0500 http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/tech/rss Officite Development Scripting Our New Website!http://www.entandmore.com/blog/post/our-new-website.html Welcome to our newly designed website! This new website offers our patients information about all our services including ENT, Ophthalmology and Hearing Services. The website also offers a significant amount of patient education about various disorders. Patients can easily make appointment requests thru the website and also fill out the new patient registration forms by printing them out from this website. This can be done before the appointment so that it can make the appointment more efficient. Thank you for choosing Specialty Care Institute for your needs!

 

 

]]>Fri, 13 Apr 2012 10:35:06 -0500Patient registration forms are on our websitehttp://www.entandmore.com/blog/post/patient-registration-forms-are-on-our-website.html We have placed all new patient registration forms on our website. Go to the "New Patients" link on our home page. New patients can fill them out prior to the appointment. This allows easy and faster registration and less time spent in the waiting room!

]]>Mon, 23 Jan 2012 20:49:52 -0600We have started electronic medical records!http://www.entandmore.com/blog/post/we-have-started-electronic-medical-records.html Specialty Care Institute has gone electronic! This month we have gone live with electronic medical records(EMR) . We have adopted the latest technology in EMR so that we can have accurate, up to date information at our fingertips. This will allow excellent communication with patients and our doctors. Prescriptions are done electronically- so no more paper prescriptions! It's done in an instant. Less wasted time at the pharmacy waiting for your prescription! EMR also allows fast reporting of test results from the hospitals.

]]>Mon, 23 Jan 2012 20:28:33 -0600Keith Urban to have throat surgeryhttp://www.entandmore.com/blog/post/keith-urban-to-have-throat-surgery.html Keith Urban, the famous country singer, will have throat surgery to remove a vocal cord polyp, according to Fox News. A vocal cord polyp often causes hoarseness, clearing of the throat, and changes in voice pitch with limited range. This can be devastating to people who use their voice extensively such as singers, customer service representatives, and teachers. Vocal cord polyps can occur from voice overuse, from a history of laryngitis, smoking, acid reflux and sometimes can occur with no apparent reason. Other lesions of the vocal cords can look like a vocal cord polyp such as vocal cord nodules , infection, and even cancer. An ENT exam in the office with an endoscope can diagnose the problem. This exam is called a flexible or rigid laryngoscopy, and is painless. It is done with only a topical anesthetic spray and takes only several minutes. A video is used to show the patient what their vocal cords actually look like.

Treatment varies depending on the actual type of lesion. Voice rest, hydration, speech/voice therapy can improve the voice in many patietnts. Sometimes, medications such as antibiotics, steroids, anti-reflux medications can help. However, some lesions such as polyps may require surgery. This is often done as an outpatient setting and under general anesthesia. The technique varies from using a forceps to excise the lesion to removal with microscope and laser. Generally, the patient just has a mild throat and can go home the same day. They usually can return to work the next day, provided they don't use their voice extensively. Usually the voice can return back to normal range in a few days to weeks.

Lesson to learn: changes in voice that persist should be evaluated by a doctor.

 

]]>Sat, 05 Nov 2011 10:47:01 -0500Dr. Krystine Mullins has joined us!http://www.entandmore.com/blog/post/dr-krystine-mullins-has-joined-us.html Dr. Krystine Mullins (Doctor of Audiology)  has now joined us here at  the Hearing Institute! She comes to us from her previous position at the Ear Institute of Chicago. She is an experienced Doctor of Audiology, who has a keen knowledge of hearing loss and its treatment. She will work with Dr. Alvi very closely to provide state of the art, specialist care of hearing loss. We know many of you have been waiting for her arrival to our practice and for her expertise in your hearing aid needs. She will start taking appointments starting October 24. We are all very excited to provide her services to our patients!

]]>Mon, 17 Oct 2011 17:56:37 -0500Adele has a vocal cord hemorrhage.http://www.entandmore.com/blog/post/adele-has-a-vocal-cord-hemorrhage.html The popular singer Adele has a vocal cord hemorrhage according to Fox News. Vocal cord hemorrhage causes your voice to be hoarse. It can occur in anyone who overuses their voice. I have seen this in teachers, foreman, people attending rock concerts, and even in customer service operators. It is diagnosed by a painless endoscopy in the ENT office. Endoscopy can diagnose which part of the voice box is affected and it also can assess if the hoarseness can be due to other causes (such as cancer). Treatments can vary from steroids, diet modification, hydration and voice rest and others.

]]>Thu, 13 Oct 2011 17:12:32 -0500Dr. Nishat Alvi will be joining us!http://www.entandmore.com/blog/post/dr-nishat-alvi-will-be-joining-us.html Nishat Alvi, MD  (ophthalmologist) will be joining Specialty Care Institute on December 1st! She is a fellowship-trained eye specialist. Her joining us will create one of the first Eye and ENT and Hearing Institute in the area. Patients can have all their ENT and eye problems taken care of by two fellowship-trained specialists in one convenient place! She will have her own website soon and we will keep you posted. She will be accepting appointments soon.

 

]]>Tue, 11 Oct 2011 14:19:55 -0500New Saturday Hours!http://www.entandmore.com/blog/post/new-saturday-hours.html We have seen a growing number of patients requesting Saturday hours. Therefore, we have added every other Saturday hours in our Barrington location. This has been important for patients who can not take time off from work and other activities during the week. Thank you for your suggestions!

]]>Mon, 22 Aug 2011 09:48:34 -0500Barrington Chamber of Commercehttp://www.entandmore.com/blog/post/barrington-chamber-of-commerce.html  I am happy to report that Specialty Care Institute has been accepted to the Barrington Chamber of Commerce. This provides recognition of our wonderful practice and better access to us for the residents of Barrington and nearby suburbs.

]]>Sun, 17 Jul 2011 21:52:34 -0500Barrington Office Now Open!http://www.entandmore.com/blog/post/barrington-office-now-open.html The Barrington officially opened on June 9. It was a great success! It was packed with patients! I wanted to thank all of you for your patience for the opening. But I wanted to make sure we did it right and offered the latest and greatest in Ear, Nose, and Throat care. I think you all were pleased also! Our Barrington office number for appointments is  - 847-277-0111. See you all soon!

]]>Fri, 10 Jun 2011 22:19:39 -0500Tonsillectomy brochurehttp://www.entandmore.com/blog/post/tonsillectomy-brochure.html Since many of you have asked how tonsillectomy is performed, I have included the tonsillectomy brochure under "Tonsillectomy" in the Patient Services tab on the website.  It is called "Coblation" and is one of the most advanced methods in removing tonsils. This is the most common method I use. Its advantage is minimal or no bleeding and improved post operative pain. Please call our office for any questions. Thank you.

]]>Tue, 31 May 2011 15:10:41 -0500Barrington Office Will Open June 9!http://www.entandmore.com/blog/post/barrington-office-will-open-june-9.html The long awaited Barrington Office is near completion and will officially open June 9!

We are taking appointments now!

]]>Sat, 28 May 2011 16:43:18 -0500In-Office Balloon Sinuplastyhttp://www.entandmore.com/blog/post/in-office-balloon-sinuplasty.html I have been doing Balloon Sinuplasty for the treatment of chronic sinusitis in the operating room for many years. But now I am now doing In-Office Balloon Sinuplasty for certain select patients with chronic sinusitis. It is performed with local anesthesia only and is a new and exciting advance in sinus procedures and is FDA approved! It is indicated in the treatment of patients with chronic sinusitis who may have nasal congestion, drainage, facial pressure and headache. I will be putting more information on this website soon! Stay tuned!

]]>Tue, 24 May 2011 18:15:47 -0500Barrington Office Opening Updatehttp://www.entandmore.com/blog/post/barrington-office-opening-update.html Hello to my patients and welcome to my new patients! In addition to our Elgin office, we are expanding and opening a new location in Barrington. Thank you for your numerous inquiries about our new location in Barrington. As many of you have been anticipating, our new Barrington Office will be opening soon! It is just minutes right near Good Shepherd Hospital. We put a lot of hard work and design to make it state of the art. The final touches are being put in now and hopefully will open in a couple of weeks!

]]>Tue, 24 May 2011 18:11:55 -0500Dr. Alvi in the Newspaperhttp://www.entandmore.com/blog/post/dr-alvi-in-the-newspaper.html In the Daily Herald, March 30, 2011 is an article I wrote about Sinusitis. It has a lot of helpful treatments and current thinking about it. Hope this helps your understanding of sinus problems!

]]>Mon, 04 Apr 2011 17:27:38 -0500Huntley lecturehttp://www.entandmore.com/blog/post/huntley-lecture.html The Lecture in Huntley went great! There were at least 80 people there! Spoke about different treatments of nasal problems from nasal sprays, antibiotics to new sinus surgery that can be done in the office!

My next lecture will probably be on hearing loss and different treatments  including hearing aids. I will keep you posted!

]]>Mon, 04 Apr 2011 17:27:38 -0500Lecture at Del Webbhttp://www.entandmore.com/blog/post/lecture-at-del-webb.htmlI will be giving my talk on "The Stuffy Nose" in Huntley on March 15 at 11:00.

Address: 11712 Coral St, Huntley, IL.

I will talk about the different causes of sinus problems, allergy, and the latestmedications and surgery to correct them. Lot of exciting new things have been developed!

I will show pictures and video! See you there!

]]>Tue, 01 Mar 2011 07:16:13 -0600Lecturehttp://www.entandmore.com/blog/post/lecture.htmlI just gave my lectur4e on "The Stuffy Nose" last night at Sherman Hospital in Elgin. It was great . Had many people say that they learned so much. Showed some videos of actual surgeries!

I'm doing a similar lecture in Huntley for Del Webb residents and residents from surrounding areas in March or May. Will keep you posted.

]]>Thu, 24 Feb 2011 17:21:11 -0600Lecture at Sherman Hospitalhttp://www.entandmore.com/blog/post/lecture-at-sherman-hospital.htmlThu, 24 Feb 2011 17:21:11 -0600Opening a blocked sinushttp://www.entandmore.com/blog/post/opening-a-blocked-sinus.htmlI just had a patient in the hospital with bad sinus problems and a blocked sinus. I used balloon technology to open the blocked sinus at the bedside, only local anesthetics used! Didn't have to go to surgery. A lot of pus came out and she was so relieved!

I took a culture of it and we will see what bacteria was inside.

]]>Mon, 31 Jan 2011 15:01:12 -0600Dr. Alvi sinus lecture at Sherman Hospitalhttp://www.entandmore.com/blog/post/dr-alvi-sinus-lecture-at-sherman.htmlI will be giving a lecture at Sherman Hospital on "The Stuffy Nose". I will discuss the different causes and current treatments for the stuiffy nose. I will present slides and also some video on nasal and sinus surgery. The lecture will be on February 23, 6-7 PM at the new Sherman Hospital in Elgin. For more info, call Tina Link at 224-783-6136 / 8720.

]]>Thu, 27 Jan 2011 18:37:31 -0600Dr. Alvi in media and lectureshttp://www.entandmore.com/blog/post/dr-alvi-in-media-and-lectures.htmlDr. Alvi in Media and lectures.

 

I have just written an article for the local newspapers on "Sinusitis - Latest Treatments" which describes the state of the art treatments that have given excellent results. I will let you know when it will be published.

]]>Thu, 27 Jan 2011 18:37:31 -0600Office locationshttp://www.entandmore.com/blog/post/office-locations.htmlComing soon:

Thank you for visiting my website. As many of you know, I am in practice for over 15 years. I just recently left my previous position to start my own practice and am very excited to provide excellent ear, nose and throat care to my new and established patients.

I have 2 practice locations : Elgin and Barrington. The Elgin office is open already. It is located across the new Sherman Hospital. The Barrington office is near Good Shepherd Hospital. We will be providing state of the art services in endoscopy, hearing, and allergy treatment. It should open in 1-2 months. I will keep you informed of course!

 

]]>Thu, 27 Jan 2011 09:52:20 -0600Welcome to my practice!http://www.entandmore.com/blog/post/welcome-to-my-practice.htmlThu, 27 Jan 2011 09:52:20 -0600