Question about doctors

[Guest guest]

Is anyone here from the Chattanooga Tn area. I'm looking for anyone that

has had experience with the Wellness Center in Hixson Tn. Two of the

doctors there are Ben and Mark . Thanks for any input.

Elaine in GA

[Guest guest]

Hi ,

First of all, find another ENT. You should feel comfortable and and be able

to trust your doctor. It took me 3 Ent's before I found one My heart trusted.

And since you have a Cholestatoma, you should have it operated on. These

cholesteatomas can do major damage and later down the road it could leave to

severe problems or even death if not dealt with. They can destroy hearing, eat

the bones away which is the hearing, balance, and skull bones, Wrap around your

facial nerve and cause paralaysis. All kinds of problems. I am getting the

surgery done in 3 weeks on the 28. It is going to be a 4-5 hour surgery. I had

an HMO doctor when I was younger and he never thought it was necessary to send

me to an ENT, and now I am dealing with this problem. I have always had

problems with my left ear just never though it would be what I was diagnosed

with. I have to have total reconstruction of my hearing bones, with prostetsis,

removal of the cholesteatoma which wrapped around my left facial nerve.

And yes you have to see an ENT after your surgery to follow up with you to

make sure it doesnt or hasnt grown back which is a possibility. Find yourself a

good one. My opinion is find one that works in a well known or top hospital

where you live and go from there. Interview them and feel them out. Hope this

helps. If you need anything else let me know. Good luck!

>

> I am new to all of this and trying to find out what I need to do. I have had

a " plugged up " ear for 3+ years. Have been to my family doctor several times

and he said my Eustacian tube is not working properly. So he referred me to an

ENT and he diagnosed me with otosclerosis (where the hearing bones fuse

together) and to look it up on the internet. I have a mild conductive hearing

loss in that ear so he said to come back in a year for a recheck. So after

looking this up on the internet, I did not believe this is what I had.

>

> So, we were out of town visiting my parents and my mom got me in to see her

ENT and he did a CT scan and found what he thought was a cholesteatoma. He said

I needed to be seen by someone close to home and referred me to a doctor in

Cincinnati where I live. I have been to see him twice (he is a surgeon,

neurotologist, and otologist) and he said I definately have a cholesteatoma and

could have surgery or do nothing. It was up to me. My question is, if I do

have surgery, does he follow me afterward or do I also have to be seen by an ENT

for follow-ups. Every thing I read says you must have surgery if you have a

cholesteatoma. But the ENT I saw in Cleve. said in my case, since my hearing

loss is so slight right now, I could wait and see but be closely monitored. How

do you know when is the right time to have surgery? The surgeon was not helpful

in guiding me. Although my gut is telling me the longer I wait, the more damage

will be done. The surgeon told me he wouldn't do surgery on my now because I

was too anxious and indecisive right now and I should go for a second opinion.

I'm very confused about what I need to do next. Go to another surgeon or a

general ENT. Who follows your care?

>

> Sorry about rambling on- I'm frustrated and confused about where to go next!

>

> Thanks for your input!

>

>

[Guest guest]

-

 

It sounds to me like you haven't been seeing the right drs. at all!  Yikes.  I know that this situation must be frustrating for you, but I would try to find another dr. in your area that is a neurotologist.  In no way would I ever recommend having a 'wait and see' attitude with cholesteatoma.  If allowed to grow, the cholesteatoma can eat away your ear bones and cause major problems.  The only " cure " for it is surgery.  Additionally, it concerns me that your ear has been allowed to stay plugged up like that.  Is it not draining and it feels stopped up all the time, like when you have a bad cold?  If it is not draining properly, then it is staying moist, if your ear is moist, it is that much more conducive for cholesteatoma growth.  There are several options for cholesteatoma removal - one procedure being canal wall up and leaving everything pretty much intact, and another procedure called canal wall down that is much more invasive, but that opens your ear up and makes it much easier to clean out if cholesteatoma regrowth were to occur.

 

Definitely follow up with a different doctor.  Definitely have it be a neurotologist.  Here is a small search I did for this speciality in Cincinnati:  http://www.healthgrades.com/local-doctors-directory/by-specialty/otology-neurotology/ohio-oh/cincinnati-otologists-neurotologists

I would find a new dr. and then I would move forward with cholesteatoma removal.  After that, the neurotologist should schedule periodic follow up appts. with you around every six months or so.  You need to get the c-toma cleaned out and address the ear not draining. 

 

HTH!!

 

) Melinda

 

-- })i({  Melinda Kaye Spille  })i({Very Proud Wife of Captain " Big Al " Super Blessed Mommy of Trinity, Emelia & TreyRomans 8:28, Ephesians 3:20(\__/) (='.'=) ( " )_( " )

On Thu, May 7, 2009 at 9:30 AM, seftonmichelle <seftonmichelle@...> wrote:

I am new to all of this and trying to find out what I need to do. I have had a " plugged up " ear for 3+ years. Have been to my family doctor several times and he said my Eustacian tube is not working properly. So he referred me to an ENT and he diagnosed me with otosclerosis (where the hearing bones fuse together) and to look it up on the internet. I have a mild conductive hearing loss in that ear so he said to come back in a year for a recheck. So after looking this up on the internet, I did not believe this is what I had.

So, we were out of town visiting my parents and my mom got me in to see her ENT and he did a CT scan and found what he thought was a cholesteatoma. He said I needed to be seen by someone close to home and referred me to a doctor in Cincinnati where I live. I have been to see him twice (he is a surgeon, neurotologist, and otologist) and he said I definately have a cholesteatoma and could have surgery or do nothing. It was up to me. My question is, if I do have surgery, does he follow me afterward or do I also have to be seen by an ENT for follow-ups. Every thing I read says you must have surgery if you have a cholesteatoma. But the ENT I saw in Cleve. said in my case, since my hearing loss is so slight right now, I could wait and see but be closely monitored. How do you know when is the right time to have surgery? The surgeon was not helpful in guiding me. Although my gut is telling me the longer I wait, the more damage will be done. The surgeon told me he wouldn't do surgery on my now because I was too anxious and indecisive right now and I should go for a second opinion. I'm very confused about what I need to do next. Go to another surgeon or a general ENT. Who follows your care?

Sorry about rambling on- I'm frustrated and confused about where to go next!Thanks for your input!

[Guest guest]

Melinda,

Thank you so much for the information. One of the doctors I saw is one of the 3 otologist/neuotologists in the Cincinnati area. There are only 3 and two are in the same practice. I don't know that he was telling me to wait and see, I just think he was not going to help me make that decision in any way. He said the only way to get rid of it was surgery. But it didn't matter to him if I had the surgery or not. It was a bad experience and I was overwhelmed by the idea of the surgery and his reply was that it isn't cancer or a ruptured gall bladder. I know this is probably no big deal to him, but for me I went from having a plugged up ear to needing surgery that can drastically reduce my hearing, cause facial paralysis and more. I know there are worse things that could be wrong and I am thankful that is not the case, but I am still trying to wrap my mind around all of this.

My ear has been plugged up for 3 years, but I have never had any drainage or infection. I don't think I had ear infections as a kid either. It just feels like there is water in my ear and it frequently pops. I also have tinitus and have had that for about 4 years but it has gotten worse this past year.

So if I have surgery by a neurotogist, then they will follow me, or do you then go to a regular ENT for checkups?

Thanks so much for your help and information!

I am new to all of this and trying to find out what I need to do. I have had a "plugged up" ear for 3+ years. Have been to my family doctor several times and he said my Eustacian tube is not working properly. So he referred me to an ENT and he diagnosed me with otosclerosis (where the hearing bones fuse together) and to look it up on the internet. I have a mild conductive hearing loss in that ear so he said to come back in a year for a recheck. So after looking this up on the internet, I did not believe this is what I had. So, we were out of town visiting my parents and my mom got me in to see her ENT and he did a CT scan and found what he thought was a cholesteatoma. He said I needed to be seen by someone close to home and referred me to a doctor in Cincinnati where I live. I have been to see him twice (he is a surgeon, neurotologist, and otologist) and he said I definately have a cholesteatoma and could have surgery or do nothing. It was

up to me. My question is, if I do have surgery, does he follow me afterward or do I also have to be seen by an ENT for follow-ups. Every thing I read says you must have surgery if you have a cholesteatoma. But the ENT I saw in Cleve. said in my case, since my hearing loss is so slight right now, I could wait and see but be closely monitored. How do you know when is the right time to have surgery? The surgeon was not helpful in guiding me. Although my gut is telling me the longer I wait, the more damage will be done. The surgeon told me he wouldn't do surgery on my now because I was too anxious and indecisive right now and I should go for a second opinion. I'm very confused about what I need to do next. Go to another surgeon or a general ENT. Who follows your care?Sorry about rambling on- I'm frustrated and confused about where to go next!Thanks for your input!