Why Choose PCI ENT?

Common Ear, Nose and Throat Services

Ear

  • Earaches: Earaches are very common, especially in children. They can present as sharp, dull or burning ear pain, and will often resolve on their own without treatment. If your earache is severe, or accompanied by fever, dizziness, headache or swelling, you should be seen by a doctor.
  • Ear Infections: Middle Ear Infection, or acute otitis media, is due to bacteria or a virus in the tubes of the middle ear. Swimmer's Ear is an infection of the outer ear canal. The main symptoms are redness, warmth and pain.
  • Ear Tubes: Ear tubes are very tiny cylinders surgically inserted into the eardrum that allow drainage and help reduce ear infections.
  • Motion Sickness & Dizziness: Motion sickness occurs when your inner ear and eyes send conflicting signals to the brain, and your brain isn't sure whether you're sitting still or moving. Vertigo is a sensation of spinning and dizziness caused by problems in the inner ear or parts of the brain. Benign Paroxysmal Positional Vertigo (BPPV) is the most common, and happens when certain head movements trigger dizziness.
  • Sudden Deafness: Sudden deafness is hearing loss that begins without warning and for no reason. The hearing loss can happen all at once or over a period of a few days. It normally will only affect one ear and if most often noticed upon waking in the morning. Some people experience a loud "pop" prior to hearing loss. Other symptoms can include ear fullness, dizziness and ringing in the ears.
Nose/Sinus
  • Chronic Sinusitis and Sinus Infections: Sinus disease is a major health problem, affecting 31 million people in the United States. In fact, Americans spend more than $1 billion every year on over-the-counter medications to treat it. The symptoms are similar to colds, allergies, and the flu, and sometimes even your primary care doctor can't tell the difference, leading to misdiagnosis. Physicians' Clinic of Iowa physicians have come together to create the PCI Sinus Center, a collaborative effort to treat chronic sinus issues in Cedar Rapids and surrounding areas. 
  • Nasal Fractures: One of the most common facial fractures, a nasal fracture is a break in the bone over the ridge of the nose. 
  • Deviated Septum: A deviated septum refers to a curvature of the wall between the nasal passages, usually resulting from injury. Some may have no symptoms, but for those who do, symptoms usually include congestion or blockage in one nostril, noisy breathing during sleep and sometimes, nosebleeds.
  • Nasal Airway Obstruction: Nasal airway obstruction impacts the airflow through the nose, making breathing difficult. Deviated septum, enlarged turbinates or weak cartilage in the outer nasal wall can all cause a nasal airway obstruction.
  • Polyps: Sinus polyps are noncancerous growths in the lining of the nose or sinuses. These can be caused by chronic inflammation, due to allergies or infections, drug sensitivity or immune disorders. 
  • Postnasal Drip: Allergies, viruses, sinus infections, hormone changes and irritants can all cause postnasal drip, a condition in which nasal secretions drain into the throat. The condition results in frequent swallowing, urge to clear your throat, coughing that gets worse at night, and hoarseness.
  • Chronic Runny Nose: Colds and allergies can cause runny noses, but if you have a chronically runny nose for no reason, you might have a condition called nonallergic rhinitis or vasomotor rhinitis. Nonallergic rhinitis is chronic congestion and sneezing that's not related to allergies, while vasomotor rhinitis is congestion, watery drainage and sneezing that comes and goes due to dilation of the blood vessels inside the nose.
Throat
  • Tonsilitis: Tonsilitis is inflammation of the tonsils that can be caused by a virus or bacterial infection. Surgical removal of the tonsils is only recommended if tonsilitis occurs frequently, doesn't respond to other common treatments or causes other serious complications.
  • Tonsil Removal: Tonsil removal may be recommended if you are diagnosed with at least 7 infections a year, more than 5 infections a year for 2 years in a row, or 3 infections a year for 3 years.
  • Adenoid Removal: Adenoid removal surgery is only performed on children between ages 1 to 7. After age 7, the adenoids progressively shrink until they become remnants. If adenoids become enlarged or chronically infected, it can lead to breathing problems, ear infections or other complications, such as snoring or sleep apnea. 
  • Polyps: Vocal cord nodules, vocal cord cysts, and vocal cord polyps are noncancerous growths or bumps like calluses on your vocal cords. They can cause your voice to sound raspy, breathy, or hoarse. Your voice may crack or cut in and out as the bumps prevent your vocal cords from vibrating normally. 
  • Throat Cancer: Throat cancer typically refers to cancer that develops in your throat or voice box. Symptoms can include a persistent sore throat, trouble swallowing, and changes in the voice.
General Care
  • Snoring & Obstructive Sleep Apnea: Sleep apnea is a potentially serious sleep disorder in which breathing repeatedly stops and starts. Symptoms can include loud snoring, feeling tired after a full night's sleep and headaches. Not all snoring is considered sleep apnea. An ENT doctor can help diagnose the root cause of your snoring and recommend a treatment plan.
  • Head & Neck Cancers: Symptoms of head and neck cancers can occur in your mouth, salivary glands, sinuses, nose, or throat and include a sore or lump that doesn't heal, a persistent sore throat, trouble swallowing, and changes in the voice. 
  • Temporomandibular joint (TMJ) dysfunction: The exact cause of TMJ disorder can be hard to pinpoint, but the dysfunction can lead to jaw pain and discomfort, difficulty chewing, and clicking and locking of the jaw joint. 
  • Facial Injuries: Injuries to the face, jawbone or mouth, such as lacerations, obstruction of the nasal cavity or sinuses, damage to the orbital sockets and trauma to the jawbone, can be treated by an Ear, Nose and Throat surgeon.

Preparing for Your ENT Surgery

Sometimes, surgery is an option to correct an issue with your ears, nose or throat. At PCI, you can expect world-class treatment, expert care and exceptional outcomes from one of Iowa's most experienced surgical teams. 

There are a few steps you will need to take in order to prepare for your upcoming surgery:

Insurance: A PCI Prior Authorization Specialist will verify prior authorization with your health insurance before your surgery is scheduled. This process takes 1-15 days, on average.  

Scheduling: An ENT Surgery Scheduler will contact you to schedule your surgery once prior authorization is obtained.

Surgical Cost: A PCI Financial Counselor may contact you to review your insurance benefits and possible pre-surgical pre-payment, if applicable. If a cost estimate is preferred prior to scheduling surgery, contact your ENT Surgery Scheduler.

Pre-surgical Clearance: Your primary care physician will evaluate your health to ensure that you can undergo surgery. This evaluation, called a history and physical, is needed within 30 days of surgery. Pre-operative labs, EKG or specialty clearance may be required as part of this process. Examples include Cardiology, Pulmonology, Nephrology etc.

COVID-19: Pre-surgical COVID-19 PCR molecular nasal swab test may be required prior to surgery (this is determined by the surgical facility). If required, patient must follow facility quarantine guidelines after testing.

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Pre-surgical Instructions: Patient/guardian will receive a surgical packet via mail and a pre-operative call from the surgical facility nurse. This nurse will review pre-surgical instructions, answer any pre-surgical questions, review patient’s medical history and give medication instructions for surgery. Blood thinner instructions will be given by the ENT Surgery Scheduler.

Day of Surgery: Patient must have a driver the day of surgery if systemic anesthesia is being used, for example, general anesthesia or IV sedation. Patient also must follow dietary instructions given by the facility nurse. A driver is not required for LOCAL anesthesia cases and no dietary restrictions apply.

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