Thank you for considering my practice for your ENT care. What makes me different from everyone else?
1. Understanding you. Sir William Osler said, “Listen to the patient, he will tell you the diagnosis.” Following that advice is difficult in this age of managed care and packed appointment schedules. But the details do matter. Sometimes the key to successful treatment lies in understanding the relationships between elements of lifestyle – diet, occupation, family situations and hobbies, for example – and symptoms.
2. Empowering you to make medical decisions. In most situations there is more than one way to approach a problem. Part of my job is to be sure you understand your treatment options and to support your medical decision making process.
3. Getting the details right. Many patients are referred to me with the correct diagnosis but unsuccessful treatment. How does this happen? Often it’s about timing your medication correctly or knowing how long to treat before expecting results. There may be another diagnosis or occupational risk factors that need to be addressed. The key to success may lie in addressing subtle issues.
Thanks for your consideration. It would be a pleasure and a privilege to take care of you.
Location
Education
Dr. Michael J. Koriwchak received his medical degree from Duke University School of Medicine in 1988. He completed both his Internship in General Surgery and Residency in Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery at Vanderbilt University Medical Center. Dr. Koriwchak continued at Vanderbilt for a fellowship in Laryngology and Care of the Professional Voice. He is board certified by the American Board of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery.
After training Dr. Koriwchak moved to Atlanta in 1995 to become one of the original physicians in Ear, Nose and Throat of Georgia. He has built a thriving practice in Laryngology, Care of the Professional Voice, Thyroid/Parathyroid Surgery, Endoscopic Sinus Surgery and General Otolaryngology. A singer himself, many of his patients depend on their voice for their careers. Some are well-known entertainers.
Specialities
Using highly specialized equipment in his voice lab, Dr. Koriwchak can evaluate complex voice and swallowing disorders in the convenience of his office. One test, laryngeal video stroboscopy, allows him to see the vocal cords during voicing so very subtle abnormalities in vocal cord vibration can be seen.
Dr. Koriwchak also helped design our electronic medical records system, which recently earned the e-Technology award from the Medical Association of Georgia.
Dr. Koriwchak has performed thousands of thyroid, parathyroid and head and neck cancer operations. He was also one of the first to offer balloon sinuplasty for the treatment of chronic sinusitis.
Dr. Koriwchak has also been working with information technology since 1977. While an undergraduate at Bucknell University he taught a computer-programming course. In medical school he wrote his own software for his laboratory research. In the 1990’s he adapted generic forms software to create one the first electronic prescription applications. Soon afterward he wrote his own chart note templates using Visual BASIC script. In 2003 he became the physician champion for ENT of Georgia’s EMR implementation project. This included not only design and implementation strategy but also writing code. In 2008 the EMR implementation earned the e-Technology award from the Medical Association of Georgia
