ACENT’s Blog

Understanding ProFractional™ Laser Treatments

Posted on July 12, 2016 by Audra McKellar

When it comes to expectations versus reality with skin, educating our medical spa patients is important. Often, our Anchorage patients want to correct aging, sagging skin, and their first instinct is a facelift. ProFractional laser treatment is an option that can help drastically reduce the signs of aging — without surgery. The ProFractional laser creates thousands of narrow-diameter channels into the skin, covering a fraction of the treated area. The body’s natural healing response triggers collagen and elastin production, giving you smoother, more youthful looking skin. This will also help reduce scarring from acne. After a laser consultation, patients are educated … Continue reading »

This Summer, Protect Your Hearing

Posted on June 28, 2016 by Stefan Harris, BC-HIS

Summer’s here, and outdoors we go here in Alaska! It can be noisy out there with concerts, air travel, sporting events, and other loud environmental sounds. Of course, here at our ear, nose, and throat practice, we’re always thinking about keeping our Anchorage patients’ hearing in tiptop shape. That’s why we think you should know about a great new product that has literally been flying off our shelves. It’s called the Westone TRU™. The TRU is a full-frequency precision hearing protection system that uses acoustic filter technology to reduce the overall volume coming in, while maintaining the sound quality across … Continue reading »

This May, Experience What It’s Like to Hear Fully Again

Posted on May 4, 2016 by Stefan Harris, BC-HIS

May is Better Hearing & Speech Month, an important milestone for our ear, nose, and throat practice here in Anchorage. And this year, we want to put the focus squarely on encouraging people to experience hearing fully again. It’s Time to Move Beyond Awareness Every year since 1927, it’s been the same story: Information arrives in droves via the newspaper, mail, and media promoting hearing health. This raises awareness about hearing loss — but it hasn’t compelled people to take action. In fact, the average is about 5 years from the time an individual goes through the stages of denial … Continue reading »

Earwax: The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly

Posted on May 2, 2016 by Tammie Taylor

Being ear, nose, and throat specialists, we need to broach the topic of earwax with our Anchorage patients from time to time. It always starts with a simple truth: We all have earwax, some more than others. But did you know that earwax is actually good for your ears, and it keeps your ears clean?  Earwax, or cerumen, traps dust, dirt, and sometimes bugs. It’s held together by oil and wax from glands living in your ear canal. The wax also protects the inner ear and can stop bad bacteria from growing in the ear. (And you thought it was … Continue reading »

How to Prevent & Stop a Nosebleed

Posted on April 25, 2016 by LeighAnn Ivie

Epistaxis, or bleeding from the nose, is a common complaint among our ENT patients here in Anchorage. It is rarely life-threatening but may cause significant concerns, especially among parents of small children. Almost every person has had at least 1 nosebleed in his or her lifetime. Most nosebleeds are benign, self-limiting, and spontaneous, but some can be recurrent. There are 2 main types of nosebleed, and 1 can be more serious than the other. The first type is caused by an anterior nasal blood vessel rupture. This type of nosebleed originates toward the front of the nose and causes blood to … Continue reading »

Meet Our Physicians

Each of our physicians is board certified in Otolaryngology – Head & Neck Surgery; in addition, Dr. Ellerbe is board certified in Facial Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery.