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Dr. Thomas' special area of interest is voice disorders, including singing, speaking, breathing, and swallowing. Dr. Thomas’ qualifications for the laryngeal or voice subspecialty of ear, nose, and throat surgery (otolaryngology), include a passionate interest in voice disorders, as well as extensive study including and beyond a six year residency training program in otolaryngology. Dr. Thomas has traveled widely, studying under numerous other laryngologists (otolaryngologists who specialize in throat disorders) in the United States, Canada, and in Europe. In addition, Dr. Thomas completed a concentrated fellowship at Loyola University in Chicago studying under Robert Bastian, M.D.

Qualifications and Experience

Fellowship

 Laryngology & Voice Disorders
Loyola University Medical School, Maywood, Illinois
July 1998 – December 1998

Membership

American Acadmey of Otolaryngology Head and Neck Surgery
American Medical Association
Oregon Academy of Otolaryngology

Vocal cords are a pair of structures in our throat (our larynx) that vibrate. They are the source of all the sound we produce. When we are hoarse, something has changed about those vibrations, and the goal of a physician should be to identify the cause of that hoarseness.

Interestingly, there are only two ways to be hoarse:

1. Air is leaking when you do not want it to leak.
2. The vocal cords are vibrating irregularly.

In order to diagnose a vocal cord problem that causes hoarseness, we need to look for one of these two findings. Ideally, a physician will look with a camera at the vocal cords and identify either a gap which is leaking air between the vocal cords, or he will find some asymmetry between the cords causing them to vibrate at different pitches. In every patient who complains of hoarseness, we will find one of these two problems. Fortunately, it is very easy to see air leaking or vocal cords vibrating irregularly, at least with the technology available today. Under this section, diagnose, you will find details on how patients are examined and how the cause of hoarseness is identified.