Yeah.
Dr. Jordan Teitelbaum: 13:40
Yeah. I don’t know how comforting that is. I try not to. One of my partners calls it tap dancing. Like, oh, yeah, you know, it’s common to have ringing in your ear.
Not for kids. And, you know, sometimes we just. I don’t have spiels. And I sometimes wish I did because I find myself, like, unable to explain things. Although, of course, I don’t use, like, big doctor terms at anyone.
Yeah, I don’t know. It’s like a fresh sort of authentic perspective. And then that’s what you need. And, you know, sometimes people do have like weird things and they’re found on a scan. So they come to me and they’ve seen neurology and they’ve seen rheumatology and autoimmune expert and I’m like, yeah, you you did everything.
Like I agree with everything you did. And like, I’m glad we did all that. Right, right. Absolutely right.
Dr. Leigh Weisz: 14:26
You know still good to check it out.
Dr. Jordan Teitelbaum: 14:28
Yeah. It’s still good to check it out. So I suppose I encourage the audience, like if, you know, if you’re worried about something, if there’s a family history, like all y’all had your tonsils and adenoids and tubes out and something’s not quite right. You know, we have really specific guidelines, I will say, for tonsils, like when teenagers have tonsil stones, that’s not a good reason. Enough to, you know, go through the pain and sometimes like a post-op bleeding risk of a tonsillectomy.
So even having that sort of explained, you know, can be a good thing.
Dr. Leigh Weisz: 14:59
I was going to say I feel like tonsils and adenoids, like, you know, back when I was a kid, everyone had their tonsils removed. What is the purpose of of those parts? And why do sometimes they get taken out and sometimes they don’t?
Dr. Jordan Teitelbaum: 15:11
Great question. So it’s like a 3D ring of tissue. The adenoids are kind of like straight back, but really the the part where the nose curves to meet the throat, it’s like the upper upper throat. But I will say that’s where your ears drain. So sometimes kid with kids with big adenoids or like bad kind of chronically inflamed adenoids, they get like pediatric sinusitis, like runny nose, stuffy Duffy mouth breathing that can affect the teeth.
It can shoot up and affect the ears. So whenever we put a second set of ear tubes in which I do not wish upon anyone in this chat or any listeners, you know, sometimes we take the adenoids out, especially if the child is over four tonsils. We’re taking out more now for obstruction, sleep disordered breathing, and those ones actually peel out easier than the ones that have been like strapped and scarred and treated with antibiotics. You know, the third most common procedure in America is tonsils and adenoids and ear tubes is number one.
Dr. Leigh Weisz: 16:08
Wow.
Dr. Jordan Teitelbaum: 16:08
I’m responsible for like two of the top three. I’ve done C-sections, which is number two in the past, and it’s like probably one of the most special things I’ve ever been a part of.
Dr. Leigh Weisz: 16:17
I could imagine. Yes.
Dr. Jordan Teitelbaum: 16:18
And then what I do like already two times this morning, people coming out of anesthesia, those are the two craziest things I’ve ever seen. Because I’m like, do you remember that conversation we had? No.
Dr. Leigh Weisz: 16:31
So tell us about. Well, on a very light note, kind of. What’s the weirdest thing you’ve ever had to remove from a kid’s ears? Nose? Anywhere.
Yeah. And then I was going to say. And then I really want to hear about some of the more meaningful surgeries you performed.
Dr. Jordan Teitelbaum: 16:46
So again, you know, ear, nose and throat is maybe an esoteric thing because, like, if I’m not having like a scope or a microscope, you really can’t see, you know, beyond what you could see with an iPhone light, which it’s fine, by the way. Let me also say like, that’s fine if you look at your throat. I use Q-tips every once in a while. Yeah. You know, people can just do what they want to do, and they probably will anyway.
But some things people can get a little intense about. The most fun thing I remember was residency was in Columbus, Ohio. So I was 45 minutes south and I was very young in my training. So like looking at an ear and taking out a rock or a pebble in like a 5 or 6 year old took it out. So proud of myself.
The pro move, though, is to look back in and just like, make sure the ear canal and eardrum are okay. And there was a second pebble. Oh, and I was like, exclaiming to the room. I was like, I found another one!
Dr. Leigh Weisz: 17:42
Oh my God!
Dr. Jordan Teitelbaum: 17:43
The other day, a kid at my son’s preschool on the way to to to preschool, a really nice preschool in the area, put a bead in his nose and they, like, went straight to my farthest office and I like took it out. And he was a good kid and the mom held him up. I had a ten year old, very smart girl. Put like a whole dime in her nose. It’s pretty funny.
A page of a book that kind of melted into the sinuses. Oh, I tell you what. That button, it melted. It was like. It was like, you know, mucus.
It mucus into the. Yeah. Sorry if you don’t like mucus.
Dr. Leigh Weisz: 18:16
No. It’s unbelievable. Yeah. Wow. And then.
Dr. Jordan Teitelbaum: 18:20
And then all my colorectal guy friends are like, how do you deal with snot? And I was like, really? Right.
Dr. Leigh Weisz: 18:26
It sounds better than the other. I agree. And then I know again, I know you’ve done some really intense, meaningful, fulfilling surgeries sometimes, you know, saving people’s lives. Can you tell 1 or 2 of those anecdotes?
Dr. Jordan Teitelbaum: 18:42
Sure. Of course. You know. So sometimes when people can’t breathe from above, like if they’re in a car accident, I’ll do, like, an awake tracheostomy. I once did that on a prisoner, actually, who had like a head and neck cancer that went too far.
Unlooked at this is a pretty random one, but sometimes a bad ear infection not the same as getting chronic ear infections can like go to the brain and cause meningitis. So I was at a mother’s day five-k and with my wife and kids, and I was on call my second Mother’s Day in a row, and I literally just like ghosted. I was like, I have to go. And I went and put an ear tube in a girl with meningitis. And she was like, better the next day.
And like, amazing when I saw her a few a few weeks later, just to get that drainage.
Dr. Leigh Weisz: 19:31
Wow. So how did they discover that? You know, how did they figure that out? That connection.
Dr. Jordan Teitelbaum: 19:36
Great question. She was she was like, sick. Like really sick. Like really sick, like hard to wake up. This this might be a good topic for, for your listeners, but like, you know, I see a lot of people who think they have brain tumors because they’re like dizzy or vertigo or ringing and, you know, it’s a pretty rare thing.
But it never hurts to check.
Dr. Leigh Weisz: 20:00
No, it never hurts to check. And then tell us about again the the brain tumor surgeries.
Dr. Jordan Teitelbaum: 20:05
Yes. So as you know, as much as I love seeing kids and adults and like, one of the proudest things that I never knew, because how could you tell someone this in, like, med school or, like, overnight call residency is being a part of our community, just like you and your team are. You know, although I guess we’re both constrained by HIPAA and stuff like, you know, just just being there for people and yeah, staying late and squeezing them in or having a conversation connecting about you read my bio. It used to be like, oh, my step one score was this and my MCAT was this. And you know, when I took like the in-service exam, I got this.
And now I’m like, yeah, no, I love football and baseball. And I’m taking my daughter to see beauty and the beast downtown. I heard it’s magical. Like, I’m not even seeking this out. People keep telling me how great it is.
They don’t even know I’m going. So just like, you know, your nose and throat. I don’t take vitals. I don’t take blood pressures. I barely look at people’s medications.
It’s wonderful when pediatricians do that. It’s wonderful when you and your team have, you know, the bandwidth. Sure. But the the opportunity to, like, really take a look. And I do try to be pretty holistic or gentle for a surgeon.
It’s actually a pretty cool way to do things, just really like making that connection and just like 6 or 8 minutes because like, people just want to talk and be people and stuff. And, you know, we’re all very similar. Even though we come from different backgrounds. So anyway, one of my subspecialties is, is advanced sinus surgery and using the sinuses to get to the undersurface of the brain. If you can like, picture the frontal lobe and the pituitary gland and even the top of the spine, and even going to like the tear duct or the eye through the nose.
Like, again, all the nasal surgery I do, there’s no bruising, there’s no change, there’s no packing. That’s what everyone thinks. And they’re always so happy and surprised, even though we had that conversation, by the way. Studies show you only remember 30% of like, your pre-op conversation with a doctor, like, you know, informed consent aside, like, what was it like, do I need to do more handouts? Do I need to put more stuff on my website?
Dr. Leigh Weisz: 22:17
Is it just because people are so stressed and nervous?
Dr. Jordan Teitelbaum: 22:20
Probably. Or it’s just like the nature of the beast. You’re just like, okay, like great. You know. Yeah.
All the more reason to have, like, a trusting relationship.
Dr. Leigh Weisz: 22:28
Absolutely.
Dr. Jordan Teitelbaum: 22:29
So, you know, that’s something really, you know, vibes. I mean, I think you and I are. A little beyond that era, I’ll say. But it really is important. I mean, especially to people and patients.
It’s important to me.
Dr. Leigh Weisz: 22:43
Absolutely.
Dr. Jordan Teitelbaum: 22:44
To me, when I see someone or when my, you know, I take my wife to see someone or we take the kids to see someone. I mean, you should connect. And we’re lucky enough that we live in the Chicagoland area, right? You know, and again, that’s authentic. So anyway, I pretty often I take out tumors and, like, patch things up with tissue in the nose.
Today I did two really crazy sinus surgeries. One was a very young person, a tooth root in her sinus, like pus, just like pulsing out at me. But she’s gonna feel better. She feels better already. And then another was a 16 year old who’s like allergies, asthma.
He’s been on allergy shots and he just didn’t improve. So I sort of made more room in his nose and sinuses.
Dr. Leigh Weisz: 23:22
Wow. Wow.
Dr. Jordan Teitelbaum: 23:23
I know that Thursday I’m seeing a patient. It’s an adult with with a pituitary gland tumor that my neurosurgery colleague has. And by the way, I’m like a specialist. Then I. I’m subspecialist for that and makes me work with other people more.
Dr. Leigh Weisz: 23:39
Right. Well, that and that’s probably also nice to be able to collaborate with.
Dr. Jordan Teitelbaum: 23:42
The other very neat. You know, like you never really get to see other surgeons. I missed that when I was a med student. I would like I don’t want to gross out the audience, but like, you know, I would stay late for like feet that needed to be taken out because that was like something I could do because you can’t mess anything up.
Dr. Leigh Weisz: 23:57
Right.
Dr. Jordan Teitelbaum: 23:57
I like, you know, I was single and no kids, and I stayed late and it was like really fun and it that but that that drive is the reason I’m sitting here with you today. No, there’s nothing to do with my board scores. It was just like, I want to, like, be the best I can.
Dr. Leigh Weisz: 24:12
And absolutely.
Dr. Jordan Teitelbaum: 24:14
I don’t know, it’s just more than a job.
Dr. Leigh Weisz: 24:16
No.
Dr. Jordan Teitelbaum: 24:16
So anyway, I have a patient coming in. She’s an adult, and our group does not take adult Medicaid. So I do like, you know, 4 or 5 or maybe more of these cases pro bono every year. And our group is in private practice, you know, and a lot of people are getting bought up or they’re sort of owned by the hospital or they work for the hospital. So, you know, I raise my hand at our group meetings, which are business meetings.
Right? We’re all co-owners of ENT Specialists of Illinois. And I was like, is it okay if I do this? And everyone’s like, yeah, that’s so great that you’re taking care of that patient.
Dr. Leigh Weisz: 24:48
It is. And again, rare, I’m sure, in this day and age for people to volunteer to do that on their off days, you know, especially when you have a family and other hobbies and things you’d like to do. But you can tell just your your heart is clearly in this for the right reasons. And, you know, it’s it’s so rewarding to be able to help people who are underserved and wouldn’t sounds like would not get could not get these services otherwise.
Dr. Jordan Teitelbaum: 25:15
A couple other stories.
Dr. Leigh Weisz: 25:16
Yeah.
Dr. Jordan Teitelbaum: 25:17
I do a lot of nosebleeds on kids. So kids have like.
Dr. Leigh Weisz: 25:20
So these are kids who are who are constantly like having nosebleeds.
Dr. Jordan Teitelbaum: 25:24
Yes. So like going to the nurse’s office is not dangerous. They’re not like losing blood. Anemic. But like, they’re disrupting their school day, and it’s usually worse with exertion. So.
Dr. Leigh Weisz: 25:34
Absolutely.
Dr. Jordan Teitelbaum: 25:35
Whether it’s like dance or tackle football, like, that’s, that’s still something that.
Dr. Leigh Weisz: 25:40
It’s disruptive for them.
Dr. Jordan Teitelbaum: 25:41
It’s disruptive. It’s a nuisance. But like little kids have like little little big blood vessel hoses. So we just like numb it up in the office. And I just kind of paint it with like a little silver nitrate stick.
And then sometimes eight weeks later when that heals because you never want to do both sides at the same time, I’ll go back and do the other one.
Dr. Leigh Weisz: 25:59
Wow. So, like, usually they’re done for life in terms of nosebleeds.
Dr. Jordan Teitelbaum: 26:03
Pretty much. Or at least it’s like never severe. People always tell me, you know, it’s like a murder scene. Like, you know, parents are just.
Dr. Leigh Weisz: 26:10
Oh, yeah, I can imagine white couches everywhere. You know, it’s definitely not good.
Dr. Jordan Teitelbaum: 26:14
That’s right. It’s like, oh, it was picture day and she was in her dress. I was like.
Dr. Leigh Weisz: 26:18
Yeah, yeah, that’s a no.
Dr. Jordan Teitelbaum: 26:20
So you can always try moisturization, you know.
Dr. Leigh Weisz: 26:22
Right. Well, I know you try. You’re very I think you’re very conservative in the sense that you will try the things first before just recommending surgery to any parent, which again, as a parent I think is appreciated.
Dr. Jordan Teitelbaum: 26:33
You have to be like that with kids.
Dr. Leigh Weisz: 26:34
Yeah. But then you also clearly are able to to move into that realm when it becomes obvious that that’s what’s needed.
Dr. Jordan Teitelbaum: 26:41
Yeah, I guess maybe that is a take home message too. It’s like this risks and benefits thing. What if. Right procedure. Like ear tubes or adenoids or nasal cautery done. Right and done, you know, with the right timing and for the right indications, which is like a medical term for like.
Dr. Leigh Weisz: 26:57
Yeah.
Dr. Jordan Teitelbaum: 26:58
Why are we doing this right or can’t get off antibiotics without it.
Dr. Leigh Weisz: 27:02
Right.
Dr. Jordan Teitelbaum: 27:03
Then then things tend to go well.
Dr. Leigh Weisz: 27:05
Right.
Dr. Jordan Teitelbaum: 27:06
And I understand that’s anxiety provoking.
Dr. Leigh Weisz: 27:08
Well I was going to say so. So thinking about not that adults don’t get anxious before procedures because they certainly do. But thinking about kind of when you’re with children and they’re going to have a procedure done by you. What are some of your go to tips for helping them stay calm? For just kind of reassuring them that that things are going to be okay?
Because I do know that kids have a lot of anxiety prior to medical procedures.
Dr. Jordan Teitelbaum: 27:33
I’m sure they do. I’m sure they do in the office, too. And then I, you know, put the camera in their nose and like, write. Somehow the next time I see them, they always high five me. Anyway, I will say they forget pretty quick and I will encourage parents like it’s it’s really important to get the answer the right way. Does that make sense?
Dr. Leigh Weisz: 27:49
Yeah. Yeah. Oh for sure.
Dr. Jordan Teitelbaum: 27:51
Sort of like not like. Oh, let the provider do their thing. It’s just like. You know. Well, that’s I don’t do certain things. No one will know.
Dr. Leigh Weisz: 28:00
I was going to say that’s actually good for for our audience in the sense that parents. Right. Do have a choice when they’re in the waiting room or not, in the waiting room, in the doctor’s office with you and their child in terms of kind of how they handle, you know, the kids anxiety. And so if a kiddo is hysterical and the parents are like, no, no, no, we’re not going to do it, forget it. Dr. Teitelbaum like, we’ll just do it another time, which I could imagine happens.
Then you’re just kind of postponing the inevitable because, you know, the problem is not going to go away. You’re still going to need to check it out the next time. So, you know, there may be some kids who require more, you know, more time with you to get more comfortable. But I was going to say if the parent kind of like, can relax a little bit and allow you to be the lead, your bedside manner with kids again is so good that I do feel like the kid will be like, oh, mom’s mom’s saying it’s okay and they’ll trust you. And like you said, the thing goes in and out in 10s and it’s like a shot.
No one loves it, but they’ll be okay.
Dr. Jordan Teitelbaum: 28:57
I hold two of my three kids down every every, you know, late August for their flu shots. I do. It’s just, you know, I guess so for the parents first, like, put yourself in my mind frame. It’s like, hey, I just got to do this really quick. I hate that I’m doing this.
Although I will, you know, write a note on my little dictate on my phone and move on. Yeah, I do think a lot of it is modeled by the parents. If they’re hanging out and they’re chilling and and I, I am sort of the same age as a lot of these people, though. A lot of these parents are a lot younger than me. All of a sudden.
Dr. Leigh Weisz: 29:30
Oh my gosh, you’re. You’re younger than than I am. So I don’t know about that.
Dr. Jordan Teitelbaum: 29:34
Possibly true. But like, it just, you know, the generation to generation.
Dr. Jordan Teitelbaum: 29:38
Like these kids, you know, my my like my little siblings, little friends are having little kids just like I did 5 or 6 years ago.
Dr. Leigh Weisz: 29:44
Absolutely.
Dr. Jordan Teitelbaum: 29:45
It’s pretty funny. It’s always constant reminder, you know, modeling and sort of being casual. I will say, you know, basically, besides a 1 or 2 year old, whenever I see a child, I talk to them. It’s I think it’s awful, especially with like translators. And, you know, we can get to that.
It’s like, oh, tell, tell him I said this or we’re going to do this. Like just sort of like engaging like I would with any patient and being like, okay, here’s what’s going to happen. Here’s what I’m looking for.
Dr. Leigh Weisz: 30:13
Right. Right.
Dr. Jordan Teitelbaum: 30:14
Setting it up like it’s gonna cause this. You know, there might be this, right? And that takes 10s. And again, I think in this sort of tricky world of healthcare, when it’s so timed. And I shadowed people in med school who timed themselves with each patient.
Dr. Leigh Weisz: 30:34
Yeah.
Dr. Jordan Teitelbaum: 30:34
You know, not specialists. Like. Right. Like a family doctor. You’re supposed to be able to tell them everything you want and get all your answers answered.
All your questions answered. I was with I was with my daughter at an eye doctor appointment and the eye doctor who was a colleague of mine, she said, I have to go or my staff’s going to be like upset. I don’t have any time for more questions. And I was like, I can’t believe you just said that to my daughter or me or like me. Me.
Dr. Leigh Weisz: 30:58
Absolutely.
Dr. Jordan Teitelbaum: 30:58
I can’t believe you actually said that. You could have, like, implied that you like you actually said it. So anyway, so make sure your questions are answered. And then if you know if your kid’s upset, like call back later or like you know, when they when they leave the next morning like call, call your doctor, talk to to to the doctor or the nurse or PA or NP and like really get things answered. You know, I’ll tell people to like look things up.
And I don’t want to say like talk to their friends, but like, you know, watch a video and then and then call back if they have questions and most don’t.
Dr. Leigh Weisz: 31:26
Right, right.
Dr. Jordan Teitelbaum: 31:27
So anyway, something I think I pride myself on with, with with kids and with parents and in tricky situations like that is just taking the extra time to use my voice. When you take Flonase, it can really dry your nose out and cause nosebleeds. The tissue that you’re trying to hit is straight back into the side. That took eight seconds of my time, right? People spray it like this.
They spray it at their septum, they get nosebleeds, they get wrongness, and they don’t get improvement in nasal inflammation and nasal allergy.
Dr. Leigh Weisz: 31:57
Right? Right.
Dr. Jordan Teitelbaum: 31:58
Sort of like overexplaining is something.
Dr. Leigh Weisz: 32:00
Well, and kind of helping kids know and the parents know what to expect. You know, what are common things you might notice, right. Just so that they’re prepared.
Dr. Jordan Teitelbaum: 32:09
Yeah. I mean, I do find people in our area and probably your audience and your patients and clients are pretty educated and stuff, but, like, I don’t know, maybe they don’t know.
Dr. Leigh Weisz: 32:19
Right, right. No, it can’t hurt. It can’t hurt to share the information for sure.
Dr. Jordan Teitelbaum: 32:24
Well, then I encourage parents, you know, and kids who are of age to like to also speak up and ask questions and stuff. I will tell kids I’m like, hey, you know, it’s your body, which is a very like new age type thing. I’m like, you can say no to this if you want. Especially like the ten year olds and 12 year olds and stuff, right?
Dr. Leigh Weisz: 32:41
No, that’s really interesting.
Dr. Jordan Teitelbaum: 32:44
Even just seeing kids, by the way. So like, you know, two, three, four year olds, like, that’s very different than, like a seven, eight, nine year old, which is very different than, like a hockey player, 15 year old who, like, you know, has broader shoulders than I. I mean.
Dr. Leigh Weisz: 32:56
Absolutely, that’s. All pediatrics.
Dr. Jordan Teitelbaum: 32:57
Like, I don’t know, those are three different things.
Dr. Leigh Weisz: 33:00
Absolutely. No, they’re they’re all different. And you know, honestly, you know, how to connect and build rapport with each of these based on their developmental stage and based on, you know, kind of their age, all of it. And so I know with my daughter, you kind of connected on the dance studio lingo. And you thought it I thought it was so funny that you knew the different names.
And, you know, she loved that. So, yeah, you have a natural ability to put put the kids at ease and the parents at ease also. And again, I think it’s it’s really a gift. So I’m trying to think before we get to kind of my, my last couple questions, if you want to share any other sort of success stories. And it doesn’t have to be like the brain tumor category, but just kids who were or adults who’ve had chronic pain or chronic hearing issues, kind of some of the more routine surgeries that make a big difference.
Dr. Jordan Teitelbaum: 33:59
Absolutely. I really think they do. There was a very nice patient. So, you know, Probably similar to you, but growing up in this area, even though I was out of state for a lot of my medical training and my wife is not from around here. Even my two daughters were born out of state.
Obviously they’re here now. So anyway, there was a the dad of this really, really cute four year old that I know. She came in and I scoped her and she was very upset. And she like, hates taking medicine. She’s got horrible allergies and she’s got like some nasal obstruction, runny nose.
So I looked at her adenoids for it’s pretty normal to still have tonsils and adenoids. They usually shrink up around age 6 or 7, but they were pretty big. And I thought if anything, they were just causing more of a problem. So we took her, you know, for a ten minute procedure. But, you know, I took her away.
By the way, no IV for kids that age. But like, you know, we masked her to sleep and she was not happy. I’ve breathing tube. I shaved her adenoids down. You don’t really take adenoids out.
And then the next time she got sick because she’s still going to get sick, right? I mean, surgery is is not always a cure for things. It she didn’t get like a swollen eye like she did when she had like a reaction to sesame seeds, like it wasn’t perfect, but it was like, oh my God, she was better. And I was like, I didn’t even think those things connected.
Dr. Leigh Weisz: 35:23
Wow.
Dr. Jordan Teitelbaum: 35:24
Like, I didn’t either. And I was like, cool, glad she’s doing great. And she drew me a picture that I saved with, like all my little stuff. And, you know, I moved on because it was a success story. Yeah.
Right. You get a thousand compliments. You only remember the one thing I wish I like. Did that bite into that sinus? You know, two things I could think of from this morning.
That was really exciting. I had a patient. And maybe you see, patients like this nonverbal, autistic, 13 year old had a history of, like, tubes, adenoids, allergies. Probably a lot of the audience knows these, like ENT kids. And he just kept clutching his head.
he kept silently clutching his head. That was new. Is he a little stuffy? Sure. Is he a little runny nose?
Sure. Chicago allergies. And I don’t think I’m guilty of saying that to patients. Says like, oh, you have allergies. It’s like, oh, yeah, allergies.
Allergies. But but maybe that’s good to hear. You know? I mean, you know, you never you never want your symptoms sort of like, placated you, you know, but but if they’re like kind of running the mill, then maybe it’s good to hear that they’re running the mill. And then.
Dr. Jordan Teitelbaum: 36:30
It’s ne less thing to worry about. I do have a story about worry in a second. So anyway, he had an MRI and it showed like something deep in his sinus, the sphenoid sinus underneath the brain right before the pituitary saw him, said I could take it out, but I’m not sure if it’s going to cure sort of the headaches. And I made a little more room in his nose on the way back. I sent him for a second opinion to like the head of rush ear, nose and throat Rhinology, who was like, sure, it might help.
And I told the parents the same thing. Then I saw him back and did the surgery and like, I didn’t know what this thing was. I didn’t know if it involved the brain. And he did better. Not perfect, but better.
But it was such a tricky situation.
Dr. Leigh Weisz: 37:12
Oh my gosh.
Dr. Jordan Teitelbaum: 37:13
Like that’s that’s very tricky to ear, nose and throat. So a lot of ear stuff can be like molars and teeth a lot of headaches. Yeah. You have sinuses right here. But more often it’s like a headache or migraine, especially if there’s a history.
Right? Family. You know, it’s so tricky sometimes figuring out what’s what and what’s not. And sometimes people are happy to hear that and they’re like, well, if it’s not that, what’s that?
Dr. Leigh Weisz: 37:35
Right.
Dr. Jordan Teitelbaum: 37:36
That’s that’s tricky for me.
Dr. Leigh Weisz: 37:38
Oh, absolutely. Those are some good stories, a tricky story.
Dr. Jordan Teitelbaum: 37:41
So I was doing tonsils on a girl who was sick all the time and snoring all the time. She was ten years old. Her mom is a therapist. And she asked me she asked me insert right before surgery and like pre-op, I was like, hey, good to see you guys.
Like, what’s up? Like, how are you feeling? I’m sure you’re hungry, right? Can’t eat anything before surgery. And she just says, am I going to die when I’m in surgery?
Am I going to wake up?
Dr. Leigh Weisz: 38:07
Oh.
Dr. Jordan Teitelbaum: 38:07
And I don’t think I was prepared for that. And I kind of gave almost like a cheesy answer like that. I wish I did better. I was like, oh, honey, like of course type thing, you know, I mean, I could see my children and her and even if I couldn’t, I do right, because it’s just being a parent definitely makes you a different everything. The way you function in the world.
And everything went great. But I was like, wow, I didn’t even know you were thinking that.
Dr. Leigh Weisz: 38:30
Absolutely. Do you tell? Do you tell the parents if something like that, that seems clinically significant to me. Like, you know, she’s a worrier, right? If if she’s asking that kind of question, I would I would imagine I shouldn’t say that.
Dr. Jordan Teitelbaum: 38:42
I would guess, yeah.
Dr. Leigh Weisz: 38:43
Do you tell the parents if it’s something they weren’t present for because it was.
Dr. Jordan Teitelbaum: 38:45
They’re in pre-op every time they were there.
Dr. Leigh Weisz: 38:47
Okay.
Dr. Jordan Teitelbaum: 38:48
Good question.
Dr. Leigh Weisz: 38:49
Yeah. Because because you like the best you can.
Dr. Jordan Teitelbaum: 38:52
Under anesthesia I’ll tell the parents. But like that’s that’s our time. That’s actually a really important like doctor points. Like when you’re having like a consult, even you’re silly, you’re joking around, you’re talking about fantasy football and beauty and the beast and all this stuff and, you know, sort of the dance studio gossip of the week. And there’s a lot of it like that’s still your time.
It’s like, you know, I tell people like, look things up and call me back, but it’s like, this is our time face to face, especially in this era like telehealth and like, you know, we we return phone calls. We don’t have a patient portal that I never it’s never going to get set up, which is not.
Your doctor. That’s. Yeah. It’s okay. Hey, I just want to tell you I’m this.
I had a little this fine. But, like, if you’re, you know, right, going into surgery or you’re having a conversation about something like that, even if it’s routine, even if it’s adenoids and tubes, okay. Like they can go basically go back to school two days later and full activity and stuff like that’s that’s your time to sort of like put everything out there and yeah, ask sort of the silly questions and, and like talk about your anxiety. I don’t know, like let me know like more information is better, right?
Dr. Leigh Weisz: 40:00
It also sets up a a template for the child for future anything medical related. You know future doctor that that it’s okay. You’re you’re open to the questions that you’re willing to sit with them a little bit extra, you know, and take their their concerns seriously because, you know, again, someone has one bad doctor appointment when they’re a kid. And unfortunately, sometimes that’s what they remember. They might have had 2 or 3 great doctors, but they have one terrible visit.
And like they don’t want to go to the doctor anymore. And so even even though, you know, it may be something benign, it’s it’s nice that you can kind of like reassure them, sit with them, you know, kind of make them feel more comfortable. Ultimately, you know, I don’t know that that would have been the right foray for saying, well, we all die sometimes.
Dr. Leigh Weisz: 40:48
Right now. I’m sure the kid. That just. Trust me, we’re I do this every day.
Dr. Jordan Teitelbaum: 40:53
Yeah. You’re going. To be getting more of this and you’re going to go home and eat lunch.
And sort of normalizing it, I hope. That was an adequate answer. Whereas I will say, as an ENT, I’m I’m usually people’s first general anesthetic. Right. If it’s a baby or a five year old or a 17 year old just getting like a deviated septum before you go off to, like, the moldy dorms or whatever, like.
Dr. Leigh Weisz: 41:13
Right.
Dr. Jordan Teitelbaum: 41:13
It’s very normal to be anxious. I mean, again, if you’re waking up in the middle of the night, there’s a difference between.
Dr. Leigh Weisz: 41:18
Yeah.
Dr. Jordan Teitelbaum: 41:19
You know, if I was having, like, a colonoscopy, I’d be, you know, nervous the day before.
Dr. Leigh Weisz: 41:24
Absolutely.
Dr. Leigh Weisz: 41:25
No, but it sounds it sounds like, again, you you are aware to kind of, you know, be there for the kid, for the family, for the parent that you have empathy towards what they’re going through. And you don’t make it so serious and scary. You know that you distract them, that you show them what the video looks like up their nose. You know that you’re able to kind of have a lightness and levity to to your approach, which does put them at ease.
Dr. Leigh Weisz: 41:48
Well, thanks.
Dr. Jordan Teitelbaum: 41:49
I think that’s, you know, what I tell patients or parents and obviously thanks for the kind words. I’m like, that’s just the way my mom and dad raised me. Like.
Dr. Leigh Weisz: 41:56
Lovely. Absolutely.
Dr. Jordan Teitelbaum: 41:58
I’m glad I get to be there for people. Yeah, totally. Well, totally on topic. I was an English and theater major while I was pre-med at Michigan. I always wanted to be a doctor, and then I always wanted to be an ENT, but I was like, kind of copy editing some personal statements.
And one of my friends applied to emergency medicine, and I was like, you know, the er like, you know, treat them or treat them right. You’re in or out. And he made this point that I’ll never forget. And again, I missed sawing off people’s toes. Sorry, sorry audience.
I missed like the other stuff like I wrote you know, I, I rotated in psych in pediatrics and it was I loved it all, which is sort of what makes me me. But I kind of missed that other stuff, you know? So when you’re in the ER, it is sometimes like life or death or you’re about to get a diagnosis and he’s like, I’m, I’m there for people in that crazy moment. I might never see from that, see them again or hear from them or get like a page. But I was like, oh wow.
Like, yeah, I don’t know. There’s so much like perspective and.
Dr. Leigh Weisz: 42:58
Right.
Dr. Jordan Teitelbaum: 42:59
Empathy is the word, but I guess that’s what that’s what people should look for is, is sort of someone who can connect on that. And, and maybe the odds are if you connect like anyone who’s reading a book, like while they’re waiting for me instead of on their phone. Oh.
Dr. Leigh Weisz: 43:13
That’s awesome.
Dr. Jordan Teitelbaum: 43:14
I’m like, what are you reading? I got some tools and. I’m like, I don’t know how you had time to do theater.
Dr. Leigh Weisz: 43:20
English. Pre-med. That’s not easy.
Dr. Jordan Teitelbaum: 43:23
Love of the game.
Dr. Leigh Weisz: 43:24
Yeah. What was your favorite performance you ever did?
Dr. Jordan Teitelbaum: 43:27
Wow. In high school, I was in The Laramie Project about Matthew Shepard that I’ll never forget. But the best thing I did was at Michigan. It was student run, student directed and produced the Complete Works of Shakespeare abridged.
Dr. Leigh Weisz: 43:43
Wow. Incredible.
Dr. Jordan Teitelbaum: 43:45
Incredible, actually.
Dr. Leigh Weisz: 43:46
Yeah.
Dr. Jordan Teitelbaum: 43:47
That is. I’m looking for some community theater.
Dr. Leigh Weisz: 43:50
Oh my gosh.
Dr. Jordan Teitelbaum: 43:50
It’s time to get back into it now that our youngest is.
Dr. Leigh Weisz: 43:53
I mean, so so so cool. I don’t know how you’re gonna have time for that, but it is so cool.
Dr. Jordan Teitelbaum: 43:58
I want to be like, I’m Dr. Jordan Teitelbaum. I’m a board certified. And here’s my rendition of this. I don’t know.
Dr. Leigh Weisz: 44:04
Tap dancing. I love i again.
Dr. Jordan Teitelbaum: 44:06
So, like.
Dr. Leigh Weisz: 44:07
It’s awesome.
Dr. Jordan Teitelbaum: 44:08
Being. A person. And then, like, people come into your office and they’re just people, like, they just want to be okay and.
Dr. Leigh Weisz: 44:14
Absolutely.
Dr. Jordan Teitelbaum: 44:14
Just want to be there for their kids. And they just want to feel better. They just want answers. Or they. Again, off topic on topic, somebody told me she she was like a really cool VP of sales.
She told me she got long Covid for the from the from getting vaccinated. I’m not an expert in that. I said, I believe you. I’m really sorry that you’re going through that. I know this is like not the real you.
I don’t know, and I’m not commenting on the science about it.
Dr. Leigh Weisz: 44:37
Right.
Dr. Jordan Teitelbaum: 44:38
Why would I not believe her? I wasn’t treating her for those conditions. I was treating her for an ear, nose and throat thing.
Dr. Leigh Weisz: 44:42
Right? Right.
Dr. Jordan Teitelbaum: 44:43
And again, that was something that stuck with me. I was like, oh my gosh. She like, really doesn’t feel great, right?
Dr. Leigh Weisz: 44:48
Absolutely, absolutely. So before we end, I just want to ask if there if you have any like favorite resources, whether they be podcasts or websites or books for parents who might want to learn more about any of these ENT related topics that are more related to kids.
Dr. Jordan Teitelbaum: 45:07
I like reading Google reviews, and I like Facebook and Instagram. The Academy of American Otolaryngology Head Neck Surgery, whatever AAO, they have a website called ENThealth.org.
Dr. Leigh Weisz: 45:22
Okay.
Dr. Jordan Teitelbaum: 45:22
Written for everyone. And I’ve written some of these articles actually. It’s like, well, what is this and what are the symptoms? And very importantly, well, what should I ask my doctor. It’s really cool.
Dr. Leigh Weisz: 45:32
Actually that is a good that’s what.
Dr. Jordan Teitelbaum: 45:34
FAQs are your FAQs. And then there’s stuff like be smart like how do you get ahead of spring allergies. And ENT is kind of interesting right. You go to like Walgreens CVS Target and there’s like a whole aisle of stuff and it’s like, yeah, I mean, most people probably do start with that stuff, and God only knows, like what people don’t tell me. I probably don’t want to know, to be honest.
But like, that’s very interesting, right? Everyone has an ear, nose and throat and everyone kind of gets like allergies and sore throat and like, weird ear things and something stuck in my throat. Voice. Happiest patients when I look and I’m like, everything looks good. They’re like, see you later, you know?
Because if you don’t have risk factors, you don’t have risk factors. So I really like our academy website. There’s like little helpful tips. There’s a ton of pediatric ENT on there. You know, ENT is just such a common thing.
You know, our you know, sometimes if you see a doctor they have a practice website like their, you know, group’s website. And it’s like common pre-op instructions. When, when can my child start, you know, not eat and drink before surgery. And that’s always scary. What medicines should you stop?
You know, usually stop things like Motrin ibuprofen for two weeks because it can thin the blood a little bit, like go to that source. Yes, definitely. Like you can read reviews and and glean things personality wise. Where do you want to go? But once you’re like locked in and you have a diagnosis and a provider, like they should have the information for you and like the academy has the information, they have recommendations. And I think, I think knowledge is power. I like when people Google things and they come in with like vertigo, which is maybe more of an adult thing. Vertigo and children never very, very normal. Like they’re like, oh, I read about the crystals and I read about this.
I’m like, good, because now you and I are starting up here to talk about it, rather than me being like, well, there’s a couple parts of the throat, you know, so I don’t I don’t discourage people from talking about the things that they’ve looked up. And, you know, I’m sure they have ideas and I’m sure they have iPhones or droids and they have their own notes. It’s like, sure, go in with that, that information, like, because then you can have the next level discussion.
You know when you’re talking to someone who does this and has seen this and is up to date and, you know, board certified.
Dr. Leigh Weisz: 47:50
Absolutely, absolutely. Now you’re such a good resource.
Dr. Jordan Teitelbaum: 47:54
Thank you. I’m working on my own coping skills.
Dr. Leigh Weisz: 47:57
Yeah. No, no. Again, I think you need you need to have a clone of yourself so that you can be tap dancing and spending time with your family and reading Shakespeare on the side and doing these amazing, life saving, life saving brain tumor surgeries, you know? Unbelievable.
Dr. Jordan Teitelbaum: 48:12
Well, thanks. It’s really nice to know you. I mean, again, I think I like helping people who help people. And I always say that to my patients. Not that your audience who are CFOs shouldn’t be listening, but like, nurses and therapists and sides and PhDs and teachers. Oh my gosh, teachers, I have like a whole backlog.
Like, we need to get this done by August 18th. All recovered and back to work.
Dr. Leigh Weisz: 48:36
Right.
Dr. Jordan Teitelbaum: 48:36
After school because mom’s a teacher. And I was like, I don’t know, just that that compassion and pride and sort of like taking it on myself, which is like kind of a heart too big can get hurt sometimes. But then I’m like, all cool. And, you know, like bossing the nurses around and doing surgery and stuff.
Dr. Jordan Teitelbaum: 48:53
So, yeah. There’s a lot of duality. I mean, thank you so much for your kind words.
Dr. Leigh Weisz: 48:58
Absolutely. Well, thank you so much, Dr. Teitelbaum, for sharing your time and your expertise with us. Everyone, please check out more episodes of our podcast. Go to copingpartners.com and click on podcast and articles. And we will have in the notes how you can look up Dr. Teitelbaum and his website and all of his information as well.
And thank you as always for tuning in.
Outro: 49:21
Thank you for listening to The Coping Podcast. We’ll see you again next time, and be sure to click subscribe to get future episodes and check out our podcast page at copingpartners.com.