Dr. Igor Huzicka

Depending on how far after surgery you are. Initially, you should be on a liquid diet. Once the stomach heals, your surgeon will advance you to pureed diet, then will allow solid food. Long term, avoid big chunky hard to digest food like big pieces of steak. These can cause blockage

No. Montelukast by itself is a supportive treatment. The best treatment for chronic asthma is a daily (or twice daily) inhaled corticosteroid (such as beclomethasone Qvar, budesonide Pulmicort, fluticasone Flovent and others).

Based on your symptom description it does sound like pain related to bone/joint/muscle structures of the upper chest, possibly clavicle or even pinched nerve in lower neck, upper chest spine.
Based on your age and what sounds like very healthy lifestyle, I would be less worried about cancer. GERD typically causes esophageal cancer with first manifestation typically being difficulty swallowing. GERD as cause of lung cancer would be quite uncommon. Some other cancers that theoretically could cause such symptoms and are relatively more common at your age would be advanced testicular cancer or cancer of lymph glands (lymphoma). You should have other symptoms if there were the cause.
When you see your new doctor, make sure you get s good physical exam of your neck including lymph glands, chest including lymph glands in the armpits and MD presses hard on your chest to elicit any painful points. Getting a chest x-ray would also be important.
Given that musculoskeletal cause is high on the list, you may want to see a chiropractor if your pcp cannot find anything obvious.

Thank you and have a great day.

Igor H.

It sounds like you have a condition called androgenic alopecia, most common pattern of hair loss in males. It is a genetic condition when hair follicles (cells of hair root) are more susceptible to the effect of dihydrotestosterone (DHT), a chemical derived from testosterone. If you have inherited a susceptibility to the effects of testosterone, or higher activity of the enzyme that converts testosterone to the active dihydrotestosterone, and/or if you have higher level of testosterone, and/or if there is a local factor damaging hair (sweating, infection, mechanical irritation) then the result is hair thinning in what we call male baldness pattern i.e. on the crown (first) followed by receding hairline.
The damage from (long-standing) effect of DHT is irreversible i.e. once done hair will not regrow.
The best prevention of further hair loss and maybe some regrowth of hair is taking a medication that stops conversion of testosterone to DHT called finasteride taken as a pill daily. The other potential beneficial side effect of finasteride may be slowing prostate growth which is also dependent on high levels of testosterone or its conversion to DHT. Since sexual function depends on testosterone itself (and much less on DHT), the effects of finasteride on libido and erections are minimal to none in most men (but there are men who notice more pronounced or bothersome side effects).

It depends on the cause. Hypothyroidism in children has many causes. Only few of them are curable (i.e. function of the thyroid gland returns to normal and stays normal without medication after the cause is identified and treated). Although most causes of hypothyroidism cannot be cured, the disease is very easily treatable by thyroid hormone supplements.

Thank you and have a great day.

Igor H.

Short term (hours) confusion after general anesthesia is common. This is however no different than the effect of any other drugs/medications that depress brain function, e.g. alcohol. Moreover, a recent trial comparing general vs spinal (a form of regional) anesthesia in hip surgery patients ( https://doi.org/10.1056/NEJMoa2113514 ) did not find any difference in post-operative complications, including frequency of delirium (confusion), about 20% in both patient groups.

Long term damage is theorized to be possible. However, the current (limited) evidence from observational studies so far does not demonstrate a significant effect of general anesthesia on brain degenerative disorder such as development of Alzheimer disease (e.g. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/35981552/ ).

Studies in children (e.g. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/35788121/ ) also do not seem to definitively demonstrate a significant impact.

Also, please note that for many types of surgeries (e.g. head and neck, chest, abdomen ) local or regional anesthesia is very difficult or impossible to do.

Several hours, maximum 1-2 days.

Yes. Both Pfizer and Moderna vaccines are authorized for children 6 months and older.

Thank you and have a great day.

Igor H.

Cetirizine (generic or brand Zyrtec) tablets and syrup has been around for a long time and is approved for children 6 months and older. It is very safe. I suggest taking it 1 hour before maximum allergen exposure. For example: if your daughter is allergic to pollen, then taking it before she plays outdoor would be the best. If she is allergic to dust mites or house pets, taking it when she comes back home from school would be optimal.
Nasal spray cromolyn sodium is available over-the-counter. It has no side effects. It can be used before allergen exposure in addition to cetirizine tablets. Unlike cetirizine, it's effect lasts only hours, so it needs to be taken 3-4 times per day for round the clock effect.
Glucocorticoid nasal sprays such as fluticasone (brand Flonase) are the most effective treatment. For best effect, they need to be started about a week before allergy season (think about when your daughter developed symptoms in the past few years and start one week before that time next year). For excellent symptom control during allergy season it needs to be used daily, only few kids can go by with as needed use. Glucocorticoids (steroids) have a lot of warnings, but serious side effects such as slowing of the growth would be extremely rare with use as a nasal spray. Common side effects include drying of the nose and nose bleed.
Saline nasal rinses are also very effective and mitigate nose bleeds from nasal steroids, especially if you live in a dry climate. Check this video: https://youtu.be/LW9mvVe7Mk4
Kids (including mine) typically are initially grossed out by the idea of squirting salt water in the nose, but with persistence and practice they really get to like the relief of congestion and ease of breathing that nasal rinse provides. There are no side effects from sinus rinse if you use boiled or distilled water to prepare it.

Thank you and have a great day.

Igor H.

The dye itself is eliminated in 24-48 hours. Since the body accumulated iodine (in the thyroid gland) a small amount of iodine from the dye that gets released from the dye does stay in the body longer. If you are using a thyroid supplement (a special one, not just a multi or prenatal vitamins), you may want not to take it for a week or two.

You need to see a specialist - gastroenterologist - and get an endoscopy (EGD) as soon as possible. Your symptoms do not sound like hiatal hernia. More likely cause is a narrowing of esophagus from something and the cause needs to be found as soon as possible to recommend proper treatment.

Unless allergic, penicillin V is still the best option. It is very targeted for group A strep and has minimal side-effects (except that suspension doesn’t taste very good). The dose is 250 mg twice daily for kids weighing less than 60 lbs and 500 mg twice daily for 60 lbs and heavier. It is very important to treat group A strep tonsillitis for full 10 days although the symptoms will likely improve much sooner than that.
Many physicians would recommend amoxicillin because the oral suspension tastes better, but there is no other advantage. Potentially, amoxicillin may have higher risk of allergic reaction or rash if the “tonsillitis” actually is undiagnosed mononucleosis.