Dr. Russell T. Snow is an ENT specialist or otolaryngologist. A visit for a consultation or assessment may be different from an average visit to your family physician, as the specialist may use instrumentation to allow better visualization of difficult areas within the nose, mouth, ear or other parts of the head face or neck.
Outlined below is what to expect from a general ENT visit, however, depending on the presenting symptoms of the patient, the consultation may vary, tailoring the history and the examination to the patient’s complaint and presenting symptoms.
Typically a history is taken eliciting the symptoms of the patient’s complaints. It is also important that the past medical history and medication (always bring a current list with you) being used should be documented, as this may have relevance if one requires surgery at a later date. The history will become focused on the presenting complaint and its effect on the individual.
A thorough examination is usually undertaken, but some aspects of the examination may not be performed if not relevant to the complaint.