Hearing a child’s laughter, smelling the earth after a spring rain, tasting and enjoying your favourite holiday meal.

These are some of life’s simple pleasures. Yet when one or more of these functions is impaired, a person’s qualiy of life is diminished. As an otolaryngologist (ear, nose and throat doctor), serving the population of Grey Bruce, I provide comprehensive medical and surgical care for individuals with diseases and disorders that affect or involve the ears, nose, throat, and other related parts of the head and neck.

It is my pleasure to share exciting news.

I’m thrilled to announce that the acquisition of a Zeiss S100/OPMI pico microscope will help to reduce wait times across Grey Bruce Health Services by enabling me to perform high-quality examinations, treatments and small outpatient surgeries not previously available at the Meaford site.

The demand for ear nose and throat procedures continues to grow across GBHS, with more than 2,500 elective and emergent cases since April 2019. After two years of pandemic related OR closures and ongoing staffing shortages at the Owen Sound site, the wait list for these procedures has grown significantly. Having this equipment available in Meaford will allow patients in our community better access to quality care in a timely manner.

This microscope has a multitude of uses.

It is primarily used in ear surgery. The extra magnification helps both with assessing and treating pathology in the ear canal, ear drum, and middle ear space. It is used to facilitate the insertion of ventilation tubes which treat and prevent ear infections in children and adults, and also helps to drain fluid from the middle ear space to improve hearing and speech development. It is also used when performing tympanoplasties – the repair of a hole in the ear drum caused by infections or trauma.

It will also be used to assist in the diagnosis and treatment of disorders of the vocal cords. It will aid in the ability to excise or biopsy vocal cord lesions, including cysts, polyps and vocal cord cancers.

The government provides little funding for this costly medical equipment.

As a result, we must rely on the generosity of donors like you to meet the needs of our hospitals. I hope we can count on you to help us with this and other important purchases that will enable us to maintain a high standard of local care for the people who call Grey Bruce their home.

Please help us fund this state-of-the-art microscope so we can continue delivering the very best ENT care to our community.

Respectfully,