William R. Blythe, MD
@WilliamRBlythe
Followers
2,305
Following
1,156
Media
927
Statuses
2,065
General Otolaryngologist at East Alabama ENT; Past Director, BOD, AAO-HNS. President, Alabama Society of Otolaryngology. Husband, Father, Son, Brother. Friend
Auburn, Alabama, USA
Joined April 2017
Don't wanna be here?
Send us removal request.
Explore trending content on Musk Viewer
Peanut
• 852986 Tweets
Iowa
• 324243 Tweets
DONBELLE BUBBLIES PRIDE
• 147117 Tweets
#BELLEOurPride
• 144357 Tweets
#OurPrideAndJoyDONNY
• 140947 Tweets
#ASAPpride
• 135961 Tweets
Complete Guru Sant Rampalji
• 131747 Tweets
Selzer
• 122169 Tweets
連続正解者
• 90750 Tweets
全ストライカー協力
• 90627 Tweets
文化の日
• 73224 Tweets
Warriors
• 62698 Tweets
Saturday Night Live
• 49993 Tweets
#全日本大学駅伝
• 44847 Tweets
Wayne
• 41540 Tweets
#BhaiDooj
• 34798 Tweets
特設サイト
• 30217 Tweets
Tennessee
• 27957 Tweets
残り1,000,000人以上
• 26309 Tweets
Embiid
• 24924 Tweets
ASAPerformer KAI
• 24380 Tweets
chappell
• 22551 Tweets
Clemson
• 21850 Tweets
Cavs
• 19884 Tweets
South Carolina
• 19278 Tweets
Louisville
• 17855 Tweets
DeRozan
• 13128 Tweets
Demar
• 12947 Tweets
Texas A&M
• 11537 Tweets
パンクブーブー
• 10552 Tweets
Maya Rudolph
• 10061 Tweets
Pinned Tweet
In the history of the Universe - 14 Billion years - there has only been one you. 6 billion nucleotides came together in a unique combination that has only occurred once, and will never occur again. You are unique, and whether you believe this is pure chance or Divine
0
2
7
I was a surgical Intern and 27 years old when my first child was born 4/21/93. She is 30 now. I was on rotation in the Burn Center and I popped in when I could. I made it to the delivery and held her for her first breath. And then I went back to work. Don’t be like me.
16
32
711
@DGlaucomflecken
Inverse the nursing pay scale such that bedside nurses get paid orders of magnitude more than those that carry charts or have administrative duties. Reward longevity.
1
10
588
@drmlb
No one cares if people wear scrubs any more. It’s as common as wearing “athleisure” wear everywhere. Go to an airport and half the people look like they just left the yoga studio or gym. Most people wearing scrubs are not physicians.
17
2
396
@mikejohansenmd
We had the same experience - later in gestation - in 1999. My wife grieved appropriately. I soldiered on like a man is supposed to. She ended up being okay. I ended up being a drunk. It took me two years to get help.
Feel your feelings. Grief takes whatever time it needs.
6
9
339
@drmlb
You are howling at the moon my friend. That ship has already sailed. Wearing scrubs today only means “I have a job that is somehow tangentially related to healthcare.” No one wears ties any more. No one dresses up. It’s Lululemon, scrubs, tights, tanks and flip flops…
4
0
167
What is the BEST specialty in medicine and why is it ENT?
15
23
151
Here are the photos from that moment. 4/21/93. That was the day I became a Father and found out why God put me here. Kelsey was (is) the most beautiful thing I have ever seen. I have loved her with everything in me since that moment.
5
0
150
10 Most Satisfying ENT Surgeries:
1) Cochlear Implant
2) Parathyroidectomy
3) Stapedectomy
4) Parotidectomy
5) Septo/SMR/FESS
6) Substernal goiter
7) Endoscopic Zenkers
8) Peds T&A for OSA
9) Endoscopic excision of cancer
10) Neck dissection
Prove me wrong.
#GeneralENT
26
6
134
@awsumpowers
Medicine is a calling. It is a job of service to your fellow man. It is an opportunity to think and do a little more for others than you do yourself. Dedicate your life to it. Do your best. And the rewards will be beyond anything you can imagine right now.
1
15
130
Cannulation of Wharton’s duct with sialolithotomy. Immediate relief of pain for the patient.
#ENTwitter
4
5
107
This may not look beautiful to you, but an intact TM (with tube,) no cholesteatoma, no otorrhea and normal hearing is a grand slam for me and the patient. A lot of work and patience went into that ear after a major mastoidectomy.
#GeneralENT
5
2
88
10 Least Satisfying ENT Surgeries
1) UPPP
2) OCR
3) Septal perforation
4) Salvage laryngectomy
5) Tracheal stenosis repair
6) Mandible fractures
7) Cystic hygromas
8) Chyle leak
9) Revision rhinoplasty
10) Any surgery on a teenager
#ENTwitter
#GeneralENT
11
3
83
Dear MedTwitter: “I don’t have an otoscope” is not a reason for an inpatient ENT consult. You are going to at least make the effort to do an exam before I consult. Otherwise, I promise I will reciprocate with the “I don’t have a stethoscope” consults. Geez.
7
5
74
It is humbling to make a diagnosis of von Willebrand’s Disease with a 2nd tonsil hemorrhage but not uncommon. Here I have controlled the bleeding and packed the tonsil fossae with SurgiFlo. Left in place 5 min then irrigated away. This is all done while the DDAVP and Amicar
7
6
64
@anantnaikmd
Knowledge is gained in school & training. No one’s is complete, and it has to be refreshed and exercised throughout a career. Wisdom is built on experience, mistakes, insight and judgment. You will make mistakes every day of your career, but your wisdom will grow with each.
3
7
61
This is precisely why I do NOT perform UPPP (uvulopalatopharyngoplasty.) Cicatricial scarring of the palate makes the patient worse, not better. Any pharyngeal surgery for OSA must ensure that the palate heals superiorly and laterally.
#ENTwitter
9
9
60
Deep lobe pleomorphic adenomas can be tricky to remove. Main VII trunk yellow. Retromandibular vein green. Marginal and cervical branches dissected inferiorly blue.
4
4
58
Second Branchial Cleft Cyst. This cyst had been recurrently infected and aspirated, so it was stuck to everything. These are tricky little cysts because the sinus enters the tonsil fossa. Just gotta take your time…
#ENTwitter
4
3
56
Alabama is out of ICU beds. We have the lowest vaccination rate in the nation. Congratulations.
7
18
55
Idiopathic subglottic tracheal stenosis in an otherwise healthy 44 year old male. This presented as mild biphasic strider upon vigorous exercise. Confirmed on laryngoscopy and flow-volume loops. Quite rare.
#ENTwitter
#Photolaryngology
6
2
56
Thyroid at the end of the day was as big as the child who got the cochlear implant at the start! Left side extended from submandibular gland to aorta!
#GeneralENT
3
2
53
Congratulations to Vanessa Nwaiwu on matching into ENT! You earned it. You deserve it!!
#otomatch
#Match2023
3
0
53
This is our “no screen” room. No phones, tablets, computers, TV’s, Kindles, AirPods or other electronics are allowed in here. It’s our favorite place in the house. (Of course I violated the rules to take these photos, but I was given permission.)
4
4
50
Here’s the thing about tonsils: it doesn’t matter how many thousand you’ve taken out; what technique you use; or how meticulous you are, you are going to have an occasional post op bleed. And it is scary for everyone. You just gotta keep calm and do your job.
#ENTwitter
4
2
49
Cartilage tympanoplasty I performed in 1998. Durable repair and normal hearing 24 years later.
1
0
47
One of my most prized possessions. V Mueller Metzenbaum scissors given to me for graduation from
@UNC_ENT
Residency by Mark Weissler, MD. I’ve used them for the past 25 years. My OR keeps them peel packed for when I ask for “Excalibur.”
2
0
48
Answer:
1/2 male : 1/2 female (patients)
1/2 medical : 1/2 surgical
1/2 adult : 1/2 peds
1/2 easy breezy : 1/2 super hard
1
3
46
Best view ever of Jacobsen’s nerve. (Look at it while you can, because I’m gonna fix that eardrum soon!)
#ENTX
1
11
46
Otomycosis with Aspergillus niger. The treatment is aural toilet, acidification of the ear canal and ototopical antiseptics. Anti-fungal therapy is generally not necessary. But first things first: Clean and debride the ear and make sure that TM is intact!
#ENTwitter
4
8
47
Candidal laryngitis demonstrated mostly on the epiglottis. Nystatin swish and swallow won’t touch this. Diflucan is not necessary. Clotrimazole troche 5 x. / day for 2 weeks will fix it right up.
0
5
45
Guess whose chair that is?! (27 years, 34,000 cases and going strong!)
3
0
46
[Sestamibi + 4D CT + Ultrasound + IOPT + Intra-op Localization] vs Old School surgeon who knows what a parathyroid adenoma looks like.
#ENTX
1
2
45
Life of a General ENT on call after a long holiday weekend: Work-ins today on top of a double-booked clinic (65 pts):
-3 midfacial fx
-2 nasal fix
-2 PTA
-Fish bone in pharynx
-Sudden SNHL
-Acute labyrinthitis
-3 nosebleeds
-1 neck mass/ cancer
Brutal. Thank God for Meredith!
4
2
44
Deep lobe parotid tumors above the facial nerve are tedious to remove. Margins always tight. A tad easier if the mandible will retract out of the way easily. No real easy way to do them other than to just take time and be careful.
#ENTwitter
0
3
43
This big guy got two cochlear implants before he reached his first birthday. He’s a big, sweet, smart fellow now, and just finished the 5th grade. This is our 9th annual selfie. He told me that I am getting old but he still loves me. (With permission.)
#ENTwitter
1
4
44
This beautiful young lady was one of my first 50 cochlear implants back in 1999. She is all grown up and a superstar! (With permission.)
#Cochlearimplant
1
1
43
Proximal genu of the facial nerve. For us General ENT’s, that’s about as proximal as I am willing to explore. A good ENT should be comfortable with the facial nerve from the geniculate ganglion to the orbicularis oculi.
2
4
43
Stapedectomy is one of the most satisfying surgeries performed by ENT’s. Relatively easy surgery and very easy on the patients. Hearing results are excellent and reproducible. Otosclerosis is not seen as commonly as in the past, but it’s easy to fix.
#ENTwitter
2
2
43
Another intra-op testing of Inspire HNS surgery. First Friday of the month is Inspire day!
#ENTwitter
#GeneralENT
#Inspiresleep
4
3
41
Ok this will hurt some of my colleagues’ pride and feelings…. But if you want the very best cosmetic result of microtia reconstruction, and the very best hearing result of aural atresia, it’s hard to beat a prosthetic ear and OSIA…
#ENTX
4
4
42
Lateral cervical film of 3.5 cm abscess of epiglottis and ball-valving obstruction of the airway. Taken stat as I was speeding to ER last night. Airway was secured and abscess drained urgently and patient is alive and well today.
#ENTwitter
6
2
39
@TPP_MD
1) Congratulations!
2) 22 years sober and I have not missed it for a single minute
3) I hang out with friends/family/crowds often.
4) I go to restaurants/bars/concerts/parties/tailgating, etc… often
5) I drink Diet Coke or water.
6) When offered a drink, I say, “No thank you.”
1
0
39
@drmlb
Wait! You’re giving me the Evil Eye. Also, LOVE the cordless headlamp and old school loupes. I think I have the Identify 300k headlamp but loops are Oakley half jackets. You look like a Rock Star!
0
0
39
Kudos to Duracell for at least trying to end the button battery injury problem. I was changing batteries in all my AirTags and ran across these guys. 1) They are damn hard to get into, and 2) I tasted them and they really are bitter!!
#ENTwitter
8
5
39
Specimen removed with excision of Thyroglossal Duct Cyst. Pretty big cyst for a 12kg child. Dr. Sistrunk was a fellow Alabamian, born just down the road from me in Tallassee, Alabama. He pioneered the surgery that bears his name while at Mayo Clinic.
#ENTwitter
1
1
39
Happy college days to this beautiful young superstar. I implanted her first ear when she was just knee-high to a duck (2 years old!) She blazed through high school is burning through college, on her way to change the world! (With permission.)
#ENTwitter
#cochlearimplant
0
0
39
All Cochlear Implant surgeons have wonderful stories of parents hearing their child’s voice for the first time, and of babies hearing their mother for the first time. But today my patient told me of hearing her child’s last words as he passed. We cried and were grateful.
3
2
40
Cochlear Implants are little marvels of modern day magic. First activation with no refining or training.
#entlife
.
#cochlearimplant
4
1
39
Left sided open-cavity mastoidectomy with mastoid obliteration, cartilage tympanoplasty and OCR. Hearing is near normal. Mastoid cavity is of minimal inconvenience. Patient is a commercial airline pilot, and this has served him well for many years.
#ENTX
2
1
37
My patient: “I will be 70 years old next month. I have never in my whole life ever gotten a birthday present. Not one. So, this year I am going to give myself a cochlear implant.”
Me: “And we are going to give it to you for free.”
Her: “ “. (Speechless tears)
6
3
38
Stapedius stimulation through facial recess during cochlear implant.
1
3
37
In-office nasal polypectomy for antrochoanal polyp. Instantaneous relief of symptoms for the patient and highly satisfying for the doctor!
#photolaryngology
9
4
35
Vestibular Schwannomas can be very very sneaky. Beware unilateral tinnitus and threshold shifts. Note the minimal asymmetry of hearing (mine is worse than this!) and 100% discrimination.
#ENTwitter
#Photolaryngology
0
0
36
Parathyroid adenoma on Butterfly in pre-op and on the back table. Focused parathyroidectomy 9 minutes skin-skin.
#ENTwitter
#GeneralENT
3
0
36
This is Optimus Prime, my trusty little microscope. She and I completed our 700th Cochlear implant together today. She’s been a good ‘un. Also, my locker for the past 25 years, which only contains my headlight, loupes, hats and coffee.
#ENTX
3
0
33
I was born and raised in the woods and with a gun in my hand. I have hunted and shot guns my entire life. I’m a Libertarian and don’t like people telling me what to do. But I would give them all up - every single one - if it would save one person from all of this bullshit.
0
0
34
6 months post right CI with >85% open set discrim. (4% pre-implant.) He said, “I want to get on the Internet with you,” so here we are!
#cochlearimplant
#
#ENTX
2
0
35
There is nothing like being a surgeon, particularly if you take care of really sick people. The successes are very rewarding and affirming. The complications and mistakes are personal and intimate and awful. The scars accumulate over a career, and they can mess you up.
5
1
30
30+ years into my journey into Otolaryngology, and I still get giddy as a school girl every time I view an MRI of the inner ear structures.
#ENTX
1
2
34
In-office tympanostomy for glue ear and CHL. Immediate relief of symptoms and hearing loss with a quick painless procedure.
#ENTX
2
4
34
Congratulations to the newly-matched Otolaryngologists! You are about to embark in training in the very best field of medicine! And to those of you who did not match this time, don’t give up. You can’t let a little something like that stop a Pilgrimage! Keep on keepin’ on.
0
0
33
First three rules of surgery: 1) Exposure, 2) Exposure, 3) Exposure.
3
3
31
S/p right medial maxillectomy for Inverting Papilloma. Surprisingly these patients almost never complain of empty nose.
#ENTX
2
2
32
View through the facial recess on approach for cochlear implant. Straight down the pipe of the Scala Tympani.
#ENTwitter
#Cochlearimplant
1
4
30
Lunch visitors on Implant Day. 2 cochlear implants. 2 Inspires. 2 kids!
0
1
32
In Otolaryngology, How Much Subspecialization Is Too Much? - ENTtoday
I vaguely remember doing this interview several months ago! Looks like I ran my mouth a bit much as usual. I’m following Dr. Pillsbury’s mantra: “Not always right, but never in doubt!
0
2
32
Patients with Chronic Sinusitis with Nasal Polyps have historically required multiple surgeries and suffer frequent recurrence of polyps. Now with one good surgery, steroid rinses and biologics, we can achieve excellent long-term results in most patients.
#ENTX
5
0
30
@IHaveSinus
In the context of the time I trained (92-97) it was just part of the deal. We didn’t plan to get pregnant. But life does not always heed our best plans. And to be honest, I always thought I was doing the right thing, even when work came first. But I was wrong.
0
1
30
@OGdukeneurosurg
Unannounced breaks by the staff. Breaks within 10 min of start or finish. Breaks without Time Out. AORN should have a policy. Anesthesia is worst offender.
2
0
29
13 years s/p wide excision, parotidectomy and neck dissection for metastatic malignant melanoma. Cured. Always swing for the fence.
3
1
28
Well, this thing is the 💣! Septal stapler. I drew up plans for such a device when I was a Resident (Mine was 2-piece.) I staple the middle turbinates together across the septum on FESS and use to close the septal flaps. Expensive, but time is money
#ENTX
2
3
28
How could someone do ENT and NOT take care of kids? I mean honestly, it’s the best part of being a doctor.
#ENTwitter
0
1
29
Posterior Nasal Nerve Neurolysis for chronic rhinitis / rhinorrhea refractory to medical therapy. This NeuroMark device is an alternative to Clarifix and Rhinaer for this condition. This provides for multiple treatment sights in a quick and easy procedure.
#ENTwitter
3
3
28
This patient was referred (Urgent Care) for “recurrent ear infections,” and “fluid behind the eardrum.” Multiple courses of antibiotics for “acute otitis media.” The negative predictive value of those diagnoses from the UC is almost 100%
#ENTwitter
3
1
27
This is a 1998-model Advanced Bionics CII cochlear implant electrode going through the mastoid and into the cochlea…
1
2
26
@JamesNNY1
The only problem with this plan is that an APP - as wonderful as they are - are NOT equivalent to a Resident. They can field phone calls and do consults, but they can’t replace a surgeon at any level. Manpower calculations must take this into account.
1
0
27
This is a relatively unimpressive CT of orbital extension of the Black Mamba of sinus infections: Invasive Fungal Sinusitis. The ocular symptoms (afferent pupillary defect, light perception only, impaired EOM) were out of proportion to the radiographic findings.
#ENTX
2
2
26
@DrEricGant
Also, stop diagnosing every single human on the planet with otalgia as having an “ear infection” or “fluid in the ear.”
1
1
27
I was going to be an Otologist but when I applied for Fellowships they said I was much too cool for that. But I love some ear surgery.
#ENTX
3
0
26