We Know About Fingerprints... but EARprints?

MSNBC reported today about a burglar who was nabbed through DNA, fingerprint, AND EARprint evidence.

Earprints are considered just as unique to an individual as fingerprints and dozens of earprints were used as evidence in this case. It was alleged that the burglar suspect pressed his ear against doors and windows to listen for anybody being home before breaking in.

In another statistic, earprints are found in 1 out of every 20 burglaries.

FearID or the Forensic Ear Identification project financed by the European Union was the research used to establish earprints as a forensic tool.

Source:
Earprints allow German cops to nab alleged serial burglar. MSNBC 4/30/12

Earprints as evidence? PhysOrg 2/24/06

Barometric Sinus Headache

MSNBC published a story on April 26, 2012 regarding headaches that come and go with pressure changes such as when flying in an airplane.

The neurological researchers call it "airplane headache" and the story makes it sound like a newly discovered headache, but in actuality, it is something that has been known for a very long time.

Human sinus cavities are air-filled cavities. When outside pressure changes relative to the air pressure within the sinus cavity, air pressure literally increases or decreases within the sinus cavity which a patient may perceive as pain/pressure over the face. This barometric sinus pressure would occur ONLY if the sinuses are clogged shut. If they are open, no problems would occur.

This phenomenon is analogous to a balloon (sinus cavity) that increases in size with decreasing pressure (going up a mountain or ascending in a plane) or decreases in size with increasing pressure (going down a mountain or descending in a plane).

As such, just like the MSNBC story suggests, the principal way to prevent such barometric sinus headache is to take a medication that prevents sinuses from clogging shut. One of the most effective medication is afrin nasal decongestant nasal sprayto be used 30-60 minutes before ascent and descent.

If this issue is a persistent chronic problem, surgical procedures such as balloon sinuplasty can be performed to make the sinus openings larger to decrease the chance of closure from mucosal edema.

Akin to barometric sinus pressure, the ears undergo a similar process which is why people "pop" the ears with pressure changes.

The ear equivalent of a barometric sinus headache is eustachian tube dysfunction.

Source:
Is flying giving you an 'airplane headache'? MSNBC 4/26/12

Video on Zenker's Diverticulum Surgery (Endoscopic Staple Diverticulostomy)

Our office has produced a new video describing Endoscopic Staple Diverticulostomy to treat Zenker's Diverticulum.

We have the unusual honor of having treated patients throughout the United States for this rare condition. Patients we have successfully treated have come from as far away as Oregon, New York, Florida, Pennsylvania, Louisiana, Arizona, etc.

For more information, please visit us here.

Video of Eustachian Tube Popping Open with Valsalva

Ever wonder what the eustachian tube looks like when the ear pops open with valsalva maneuver? Valsalva is accomplished by trying to blow air out a nose that is pinched closed. The eustachian tube is a tunnel that goes from the back of the nose to the ear.

Well, here you go! Video provided courtesy of Dr. Vijay Anand.

Watch this video to see where this eustachian tube is exactly located.

Read more about ear popping and when one is NOT able to pop the ears, a condition called eustachian tube dysfunction!

Levon Helm, Singer/Drummer for The Band, Dies of Throat Cancer

Levon Helm, legendary singer and drummer for The Band, died of throat cancer at age 71 on April 19, 2012.

It is unclear exactly what happened over this past month, but media reports state that he was diagnosed with vocal cord cancer in 1998 and underwent 28 sessions of radiation treatment at the Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center. His cancer was almost certainly due to his 3 packs per day smoking and though he quit with his initial cancer diagnosis, cancer being what it is, it can always come back.

No mention of surgery or chemotherapy since than.

Given this little bit of information and the fact that he did have an albeit raspy voice to the point that he was still able to sing 1 month prior to his death on March 19, 2012, I suspect he had an aggressive recurrence of his vocal cord cancer.

Shown below is what a normal vocal cord looks like along with one that has cancer.

Typically with vocal cord cancer, radiation therapy alone is curative and allows for voice preservation. In fact, if no cancer is seen 5 years after treatment which in Mr. Helm's case would have been in 2003, one could state "cured" from this type of cancer.

So it is strange indeed that his vocal cord cancer would come back with a vengeance to the point it killed him 14 years later, though not impossible, especially if he started smoking again as well as drinking alcohol which exacerbates smoking's cancer-causing potential.

Furthermore, it is rare that vocal cord cancer alone would kill a person as there are salvage treatments in event the cancer does comes back as apparently it did for Mr. Helm.

If the vocal cord cancer comes back, it could grow in size to the point it would cut off the ability to breath. The growth could be quite dramatic taking a breathing/talking person to being unable to breath or talk in a matter of weeks.

With an aggressive vocal cord cancer recurrence, radiation therapy really is no longer an option if previously already done. Chemotherapy can be tried but with a localized aggressive cancer recurrence, surgery is really the only option... the COMPLETE removal of the entire voice-box.

This complete voice-box removal is known as total laryngectomy. It would leave the person completely unable to talk in a natural manner. It would also leave the person with a permanent hole in the neck as the only way to breath.

It just may be that Mr. Helm was offered this option, but given his life as a professional singer, it was perhaps too draconian an option for him to conceive of. As any singer can tell you, their voice is their life. Without their voice, their life might as well be over.

Of course, he may have developed a "new" cancer somewhere else in his throat... the supraglottis located immediately above the vocal cords or the pharynx which surrounds the vocal cords.

Unfortunately, the treatment options would have been still pretty much the same.

Source:
Levon Helm's Life After Cancer. CBS 2/11/09

Levon Helm Throat Cancer: Legendary 'The Band' Musician Dies At 71. HuffingtonPost 4/18/12

Levon Helm, Drummer and Singer of the Band, Dead at 71. RollingStone 4/19/12