What’s Going On in Your Neck of the Woods?

Ophthalmology

Jennifer J. Lentz, PhD, Associate Professor at the Neuroscience Center of Excellence and Departments of Otorhinolaryngology, Genetics and Ophthalmology, in collaboration with Robert K. Koenekoop MD, PhD, and Professor of Pediatric Surgery, Human Genetics and Ophthalmology at McGill University in Montreal, Quebec, Canada, has been awarded a $1.74 million grant to advance research on Usher syndrome. The five-year grant was awarded by the National Eye Institute of the National Institutes of Health (NIH).

 

Orthopaedics

Through the collaborative efforts of The American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons (AAOS) and the Orthopaedic Trauma Association (OTA), a first-of-its-kind summit addressing the Best of Orthopaedic Techniques was held in India in September. Robert D. Zura, MD, led the two courses in both Mumbai and New Delhi. As course director, Dr. Zura coordinated each program and orchestrated the robust exploration of leading orthopaedic techniques. Attracting a combined audience of more than 1,000 attendees, the successful courses featured didactic lectures, case discussions and an overview of the foremost orthopedic techniques in practice today.

Lisa Stang attended the LACaTS Research Coordinator Training Program earlier this year and received her Research Coordinator Certificate of Excellence.

 

Otolaryngology

The Department held the Residents’ Temporal Bone Dissection Course at the Center of Advanced Practice in New Orleans on November 8, 2019.

Faculty and residents held the annual Cricothyrotomy Day for the L1’s, LSU Gross Anatomy Lab, on November 15, 2019.

Vilija Vaitaitis, MD, Leslie Son, PhD, and Rohan Walvekar, MD presented a poster at the 5th Annual International Salivary Gland Congress, “Determining the Necessity for Postoperative Antibiotics after Salivary Stent Placement,” in Philadelphia, October 25-26, 2019.

Melda Kunduk, PhD, Program Chair, Fall Voice Conference 2019/Pre-Conference Program for Speech and Language Pathologists, "Recipes for Voice Therapy: Discovering the Essential Ingredients" in Dallas, October 17, 2019.

Melda Kunduk, PhD, organized the Surgical and Nonsurgical Considerations for Successful Tracheoesophageal Voice Restoration Workshop for ENT Residents. The workshop was held in Baton Rouge in September. Presenters included Professor Dr. Michiel W. M. van den Brekel and Julie Bishop Leone, MA, CCC-SLP.

Dr. Rohan Walvekar, Course Director, LSU Otolaryngology Department and AAO-HNS/F Sialendoscopy Hands-on Course, LSU, Center of Advanced Practice, New Orleans, September 14, 2019.

Dr. Rahul Mehta, Course Director, LSU Otolaryngology Department and AAO-HNS/F Endoscopic Ear Surgery and Eustachian Tube Balloon Dilation Workshop, Center of Advanced Practice, New Orleans, September 14, 2019.

Dr. Michael Dunham, Dr. Ellis Arjmand, Dr. Adele Evans, and Dr. Belinda Mantle, American Society of Pediatric Otolaryngology Pre-Meeting Pediatric Otolaryngology Seminar Series, Children’s Hospital, New Orleans, September 14, 2019.

Several faculty presented at the AAO-HNS Annual Meeting held in September in New Orleans, including:

  • Dr. Andrew McWhorter and Dr. Lacey Adkins, Endocrine Surgery Committee: Voice Swallowing Issues Following Treatment of Thyroid Cancer and Foundations in Laryngology 2019: Management of Early Glottic Cancer
  • Dr. Celeste Gary presented “Approaching the Aging Face”
  • Dr. Andrew McWhorter presented “Laser Surgery for Early Glottic Cancer”
  • Dr. Larry Simon presented “E & M Coding and Documentation for Proper Reimbursement” and “Coding and Auditing for the Compliance Officer Pt. 1 & II”
  • Dr. Moises Arriaga and Dr. Isaac Erbele, scientific poster presentation “Small Temporal Bone Dehiscences are Associated with Otogenic Meningtis”
  • Dr. Moises Arriaga, Dr. Rahul Mehta, and Gerard Giangrosso (L4), scientific poster presentation “The Hemodynamic Effects of Lidocaine with Epinephrine during Otologic Surgery.”
  • Dr. Moises Arriaga, Dr. Rahul Mehta, and Kelsey (L4), scientific poster presentation “Additional Benefits of Facial Nerve Monitoring During Ear Surgery”
  • Dr. Michael Dunham and Dr. Vilija Vaitaitis presented “Simulation Reception and Showcase: A Surgical Simulator for Tympanoplasty Tuber Insertion Incorporating Capacitive Sensing Technology to Track Instrument Placement”
  • Dr. Andrew McWhorter presented “Advanced Airway Management: The Term Approach to the Difficult Airway”
  • Dr. Moises Arraiga and George Jeha (L3) presented “Does Surgery Change the Effectiveness of Radiation in Vestibular Schwannoma?”
  • Dr. Vilija Vaitaitis presented “In-Office Psychological Counseling for Head & Neck Cancer Patient”

Isaac Erbele, MD was the team lead for an AAO-HNS Faculty Development module on unconscious bias, which went live on Academy U and can be found here: http://academyu.entnet.org/diweb/catalog/item/id/4698303

 

Pediatrics

Many members of the department participated in the annual conference LA-AAP with oral and poster presentations. The oral presentations included:

  • Palliative Care for Louisiana Kids - It May Not Be What You Think It Is - Alexis Morvant, MD, MA, FAAP
  • Newborn Screening for Severe Combined Immunodeficiency and Approach to the Child With Too Many Infections - Luke Wall, MD, FAAP
  • Providing Quality Care to Sexual Minority Adolescents - Ryan Pasternak, MD, MPH, FAAP
  • A Case of Neonatal Herpes in the Setting of Maternal Herpes Mastitis - Tyler Kingdon, MD 

The poster presentations included:

  • A Case Report of Mercury Poisoning Presenting with Neurologic Manifestations, Desquamating Rash, Tachycardia, and Hypertension - Kelly Angelle, Jamie Yeager, Maury Williams, Courtney Styres, Shannon Palombo
  • Benign Recurrent Intrahepatic Cholestasis - Michael Carver and Patricio Arias
  • Infant Presenting with Failure to Thrive Found to Have Renal Tubular Acidosis - Michael Carver, Ivonne Iglesias, Patricio Arias
  • Fever and Pancytopenia Following Epstein-Barr Virus Infection – A “Can’t Miss” Diagnosis - Aaron Kala, Evan Davis, Chelsey Sandlin
  • Undiagnosed Maternal Hyperparathyroidism Causing Hypocalcemia and Neonatal Seizures - Ryley McPeters, Nikita Lalchandani, Trent Davidge, Peter Morreale, Matthew Keane
  • A Case of Bronchopulmonary Sequestration in a Newborn - Ryley McPeters, Elvira Chiccarelli, David Manning, James Krulisky
  • Methemoglobinemia in an Infant with Diarrhea and Acidosis - Sarah L. Short, Jinnesse Taylor, Edwin Frieberg
  • Alternative Etiology for Viral Parotitis - Janet Smith and Raghubir Mangat
  • FanconiSyndrome: How to Determine the Cause Without a Crystal Ball - Courtney Styres, Angelina Dixon, Caroline Straatmann
  • Differentiating Between Two Clinical Diagnoses: SLE and sJIA - Courtney Styres, Angelina Dixon, Isa Ashoor
  • Abnormal Vasculature Findings in MenkesDisease: A Case Report - Tat Yau, Laura DeLatin, Jerusss Aita-Levy