Dr. Brent Richardson is one of 4 clinicians at Bastian Voice Institute who together manage a large population of adult patients with recurrent respiratory papillomatosis (RRP).  RRP is caused by the human papilloma virus (HPV), which in turn stimulates growth of benign proliferative lesions called papillomas, similar to warts.  State-of-the-art management remains precise surgical removal of papillomas when the lesions regrow sufficiently to cause hoarseness or rarely in adults, airway obstruction.  Looking for a medical alternative to surgery, Dr. Richardson’s ground-breaking pilot study of three patients used an investigational oral anti-viral medication called Brincidofovir.  The medication appeared to reduce the amount of disease and prolong the interval to regrowth of lesions in these three patients.  Given these encouraging results, further study is needed, because the behavior of RRP is so variable. Dr. Richardson is pursuing the possibility of a larger clinical trial with the drug’s pharmaceutical sponsor and developer.  To view the abstract of his study, click this link: https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/00034894211007227

We are grateful to FOX32 for hosting a live interview with Dr. Bastian about R-CPD, or the inability to burp. https://www.fox32chicago.com/video/923486

Over the weekend Bastian Voice Institute was featured in the local news source the Daily Herald. Dr. Bastian discussed R-CPD, or the in-ability to burp, and how it’s treated. Click on the link to view.

https://www.dailyherald.com/news/20210410/constable-downers-grove-voice-doctor-helps-people-who-cant-burp-they-really-need-to

We will be closed for Good Friday, April 2nd, and reopen at 8am on Monday, April 5th.  We hope you enjoy a happy and safe Easter weekend.

Dr. Bastian makes extensive use of elicitation with his own voice in order to hear the “vocal phenomenology” of a voice under evaluation. He has named one phenomenon he has not heard described elsewhere as mucosal chatter. This post describes mucosal chatter and provides a video that demonstrates it in an injured voice. https://youtu.be/TtYldrKK3iI

Before considering anything else (like vocal cord implants), first adopt a DIY voice building strategy as described here by Dr. Bastian. This can be done at home in just minutes per day!

New noburp video on YouTube! https://youtu.be/-ryeCv0_qi8

Unable to burp your entire life? Embarrassed by audible croaking and gurgling noises? Plagued by abdominal bloating/distention and chest or low neck pressure? Distressed by excessive flatulence? Are you even laughed at by others you tell about your inability to burp? You may have a condition called “noburp” on social media. Described recently in the medical literature by Dr. Robert W Bastian and colleagues, the official name for the disorder is R-CPD (retrograde cricopharyngeus dysfunction), which can cause daily misery. Dr. Bastian takes you through a detailed description of the symptoms that comprise the syndrome of R-CPD, for which there is a solution…

Still coughing after COVID?

Especially early on after contracting the virus, coughing may serve to clear secretions from resolving lung inflammation. While such a cough may help lungs return to health, eventually, it can start to annoy or even severely affect quality of life. The diagnosis can be sensory neuropathic cough and can be caused by “damaged,” or “sensitized” sensory nerve endings in the trachea, larynx, or throat. These “wild” nerve endings go “ZING!!” and demand that you cough. For more, see https://laryngopedia.com/covid-19-coughing/