Wellstar ENT & Allergy Care
Live comfortably, live well
When ear, nose or throat issues prevent you from living your fullest life, our Wellstar team is here to help. From allergy testing and treatment to hearing assistance and sleep medicine, our experts are committed to helping you achieve your best health.- Wellstar ENT and Allergy Care
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About Us
Improving Health and Enhancing Your Quality of Life
Whether you’re dealing with a common condition like seasonal allergies or want to better understand and address symptoms that concern you, we offer a full range of services to help you feel better. Our otolaryngologists specialize in diagnosing and treating disorders of the ears, nose and throat (ENT) in adults and children. Our specialists bring knowledge, experience and the expertise of the entire Wellstar team to your care. Getting an accurate diagnosis is the first step in getting treatment that will improve your symptoms so you can feel better sooner. At Wellstar, we offer a wide range of screening and testing options to pinpoint the source of your discomfort so your doctor can get you on the road to recovery.Our Care Team
Every ear, nose or throat condition is different, so each person’s treatment must be, as well. That’s why our skilled and caring team will work with you to find the treatment that’s best for your unique circumstances. At Wellstar, our ENT team includes board-certified physicians with specialty training in many different areas all working together to provide the best possible care for you and your loved ones. Because of the complex nature of many ear, nose and throat conditions, specialists like these may contribute to your care, including:Allergy Testing
Both persistent and seasonal allergies can create bothersome symptoms, such as nasal congestion, itchy nose and throat, or sneezing. Ear infections and recurring sinus problems may sometimes be linked to allergens, which are substances we encounter that are harmless to many people, but cause an uncomfortable, sometimes dangerous immune system reaction in others. We can evaluate your symptoms and provide testing if allergies are suspected. Once we determine the source of the problem, we offer education, medications and allergy shots to help you manage your condition and alleviate symptoms that disrupt your daily life.Hearing Testing and Assistive Devices
What we hear connects us to the world and the people around us. Our ears enable us to communicate, help us learn and keep us safe. It may come as a surprise to learn that hearing problems aren’t always easy to recognize. That’s why screenings at regular intervals are recommended to help identify hearing loss that might otherwise go undetected — and why your doctor may recommend one if you’re experiencing related symptoms. When hearing loss is identified, our Wellstar audiologists offer additional testing to better understand the cause of your hearing loss and its severity. Based on the results, your doctor can recommend treatment tailored to your unique needs, which may include assistive devices such as hearing aids, cochlear implants or bone-anchored hearing devices.Non-surgical Therapies
While there are a wide variety of medical treatments for ENT disorders, whenever possible we begin with the most conservative therapies to help you find relief. These include home remedies, lifestyle changes and medications, but, depending on your needs, might also include speech therapy, allergy shots or assistive hearing devices, for instance.Advanced Surgical Techniques
When surgery is your best treatment option, you can count on our expert ENT specialists to use the most advanced surgical procedures, including image-guided surgery and robotic procedures. In many cases, surgery can be performed with minimally invasive techniques. When compared to traditional open surgery, minimally invasive procedures often result in less discomfort, better results and a faster recovery.Health Highlights
Conditions We Treat
- Cochlear implants
- Bone-anchored hearing devices
- Acoustic neuroma
- Balance disorders/dizziness
- Cholesteatoma
- Ear infection
- Earache
- Earwax impaction
- Hearing loss
- Ruptured eardrum
- Swimmer’s ear
- Tinnitus
- Vertigo
- Allergies
- Asthma
- Chronic sinusitis
- Deviated septum
- Nosebleeds
- Post-nasal drip
- Rhinitis
Our Locations
News
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Newsroom
Wellstar Expanding Cancer Care in Spalding County
- Medical oncology services with partners in care Northwest Georgia Oncology Centers (NGOC), including the latest targeted therapies, immunotherapy and chemotherapy to fight various types of cancer
- Outpatient infusion services
- Infusion Pharmacy, an onsite compounding pharmacy for timely medication preparation
- Resources for patient education with a clinical pharmacist and nurse
- Onsite support services, including oncology nurse navigator
- Eight patient exam rooms
- Triage room
- 14 infusion chairs
- Two blood draw stations
- Dedicated lab
- Waiting area
- Administration offices
- Nurses stations
Newsroom
Wellstar Breaks Ground on Cancer Care Facility in Spalding County
Highlights
Expert Treatment for Head and Neck Cancers at Wellstar
Head and neck cancers include several different types of malignant tumors affecting parts of the head and neck, including the nose and sinus cavities, mouth, throat, voice box and salivary glands. Head and neck cancers typically involve the mucosa, or the tissues lining these areas, and represent about 4% of all cancers diagnosed in the United States each year.
Treating head and neck cancers
If you are diagnosed with cancer, Wellstar provides expert care. Oropharyngeal cancers are typically treated with surgery (with or without radiation therapy) or radiation therapy (with or without chemotherapy) at equivalent cure rates. Goals of treatment are to remove the cancer, prevent its return and limit side effects.
“Wellstar providers work with patients to tailor care to their needs—based on effectiveness of the treatment, tumor location and stage, accessibility of the tumor to a surgical approach, risk of side effects and patient choice,” said Dr. Kia Jones, a Wellstar ear nose & throat physician.
In the Head and Neck STAT Clinics at Wellstar Cobb, Douglas and North Fulton Medical Centers, the patient meets with their entire treatment team in a single day during treatment planning and may start treatment sooner, which may improve outcomes for patients and provides more peace of mind.
New surgical method improves treatment
Transoral robotic surgery, offered at Wellstar North Fulton, has changed the way oropharyngeal cancers are treated surgically.
“In this procedure, the surgeon accesses the cancer by passing tools through the mouth rather than making an incision,” said Dr. Jones, who performs the procedure.
For those patients with early-stage tumors and limited disease in the neck, the surgery offers the patient a cure at a single intervention without the need for tracheostomy or abdominal feeding tube, faster return to taking food orally, improved outcomes and faster recovery. This is preferred over traditional surgical methods, which require splitting the jaw and/or the tongue or gaining access to the throat via neck incision.
Reducing your risk
You can take action against common risk factors by decreasing tobacco and alcohol use and getting the human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine.
Some well-known risk factors for the development of head and neck cancers include heavy alcohol and tobacco use, especially if someone uses alcohol and tobacco together. Men are three times more likely to be diagnosed with oral and throat cancer compared to women, according to the American Cancer Society.
An additional risk factor is HPV infection, which is related to the development of oropharyngeal cancer specifically. The oropharynx is the midsection of the throat and includes the tonsils and the root of the tongue or tongue base where the vast majority of these tumors originate. HPV-related oropharyngeal cancer is more prevalent now than HPV-related cervical cancer in women. HPV-related oropharyngeal cancer has been increasing in the United States over the last three to four decades, while the incidence of tobacco and alcohol-related tumors has been declining. More than 22,500 people are diagnosed with HPV-related oropharyngeal cancer each year.
Learn more about how Wellstar cares for head and neck cancers.