Specialized ENT, Otology, and Filter Clinic services at KNH

By Emmanuel Wambua

Imagine not being able to listen to your favorite music or smell the sweet aroma of your favorite meal or the strangely satisfying smell of the earth after a spring rain, or even worse, not being able to speak coherently because of a persistent and annoying sore throat?

It could also be your child’s swimmer’s ear that is making them uncomfortable or a clogged nose that is making it hard for him to breathe. These are but some of the conditions that ENT doctors treat. A specialist who diagnoses and treats ears, nose, sinus, throat, head, and neck conditions is known as an Otolaryngologist (simply spelled Otologist).

Otology is a branch of medicine that studies anatomy and physiology of the ear as well as the diseases, diagnosis, and treatment that relate to it. Otology also includes surgical treatment of conductive hearing loss such as stapedectomy surgery on otosclerosis. Surgeons at the ENT clinic treat many medical conditions such as; ear conditions like an infection, hearing loss or trouble with balance, nose and nasal issues like allergies, sinuses (Endoscopic Sinus surgery) and growths, throat ailments such as tonsillitis, difficulty swallowing, and voice issues, sleep troubles like snoring and obstructive sleep apnea (which means an individual’s airway is narrow or blocked and can cause trouble breathing while they are asleep).

The Newsline team interviewed the ENT Clinic in charge, Ms. Jacqueline Andal (Senior Nursing Officer), who has been in the department for the last 21 years.

On a normal day, Ms. Andal begins by briefing patients on the procedures to be followed, then works on the first files of the patients seeking ENT services. She assigns the different files to the Filter clinic where triaging is done.

At the Filter clinic, the doctors or clinicians obtain information about the patient’s condition by carrying out various tests to diagnose their illness. After the triaging process, the emergencies are reported and the patients are taken to the clinic’s satellite theatre, where minor surgeries are done.

Some of the minor surgeries that are carried out are; children swallowing foreign objects such as coins, foreign objects inserted in the ears or nose, over-swollen tonsils, or any other accidents related to ENT.

Different clinics are booked for different days within the ENT Clinic from Monday to Friday for the less urgent cases. The appointments are attended to by the consultants or registrars who recommend and book major surgeries in the main theatre where necessary.

Ms. Andal further informed us that the department has various specialized machines such as the BERA machine (Brainstem Evoked Response Audiometry) which is used to test any hearing impairment or difficulty in hearing, and there is also an ear surgery machine.

Other services offered are neck and throat surgeries such as voice box or larynx cancer which is mostly caused by cigarette smoking; majorly affecting men, and vocal cord conditions which mostly affect musicians, preachers, and politicians among others, when they strain their voices for long periods.

“There is also the Operation Eardrop Project, which is a partnership between KNH and Netherlands that does projects twice a year (March and November) for ear surgeries. The project is sponsored

ACN, ENT Ms. Jackline Andal during the interview

PHOTO | ELIJAH NG’ANG’A

MAIN PHOTO | ELIJAH NG’ANG’A Dr. Elaine Yuko (L) ACN. ENT, Dr. Andal and Dr. Peo Sesinyi performing a minor ear operation at the ENT satellite theatre