Richard has given me a new life! Prior to seeing Dr Harvey, I was suffering on a daily basis with extreme allergies. My first appointment with him made it even clearer how much I was suffering. They were not able to get a reading of my breathing as I was that blocked up! He prescribed with Acarizax (immunotherapy allergy drug). A wafer tablet you place under your tongue daily. Each visit to dr Harvey, my reading scores were getting better and better! 3 years later and I’ve scored the best reading yet, close to a normal reading! Surgery was an option but I wanted to make sure I had stressed every other avenue and I am so glad I did! Thank you dr Harvey for allowing me to breathe, to not wake up in the morning with a sneezing attack and to just get on with life!
Posted Date : 27/09/2021
Anonymous
I suffer from a medical condition called HHT. Meaning i suffer from server nose bleeds. Throughout my life I have visited many ENT Specialists with mixed results. I was last told that no more could be done to help me, so I was referred to Prof Harvey.
From my first consultation with Prof Harvey he understood what i was going through and said he could change my life. Prof Harvey was friendly, caring and professional in explaining to me his procedure and results he could perform. His staff are very polite, helpful, caring, friendly and thorough. Before and after surgery Prof Harvey was warm, caring , thorough and showed how much experience and knowledge he has.
I would highly recommend Professor Harvey as an extremely capable, experienced and very qualified HHT ENT Specialist in whom a patient can have great confidence.
Anonymous
Very friendly, Excellent customer service and very knowledgeable
Anonymous
H.H.T. Patient Review of personal experience with Professor Richard Harvey E.N.T. Specialist.
I have had a long history of visiting ENT Specialists with very mixed results. The reason is I suffer with a rare Medical Condition – Hereditary Hemorrhagic Telangiectasia (HHT), which has resulted in my having nose bleeds of varying frequency and severity throughout my life. HHT is a vascular condition in which arteries and veins in parts of the body are malformed and distorted. They are known as AVMs. Although rare in the general community, AVMs are common in people with HHT. I have had Electro Cautery and KTP Laser treatments by different ENT Specialists, however nose bleeding has continued to be a problem. These treatments provided spasmodic short periods of relief, but can inflict damage to the delicate nasal mucosa, as well as risking perforation of the nasal septum.
I first attended Professor Harvey’s rooms in 2016 after a recommendation at a HHT seminar in Melbourne. Having an ENT Specialist who is knowledgeable and experienced, with significant successful results is very important.
I would advocate that Professor Harvey is an extremely capable ENT Specialist in whom a patient can have great confidence. He is warm, friendly and welcoming as well as being very thorough. Professor Harvey’s careful attention to my HHT history and to details of recent nose bleeds, his calm and considered approach, as well as clear explanations of his findings on my nasal condition, made me realise he is the most capable Specialist to have ever examined my nose. I felt confident knowing I was in the hands of a specialist of extraordinary ability in terms of knowledge and experience, who has a very caring attitude toward his patients. He noted the frequency and severity of my bleeding particularly. His examination of my nose using a camera and screen was thorough and he noted troublesome telangiectases needing attention.
Professor Harvey performed Coblation Septal Telangiectasia in September 2016 after which he visited me to enquire how I was feeling and what I could expect after surgery. The procedure certainly reduced my nose bleeding. However, in December 2016, I started having very severe nasal bleeding. In January 2017, I haemorrhaged uncontrollably from the nose on 3 separate occasions and was taken by ambulance to the A&E at a local hospital each time. The attending doctor packed my nose using “Rapid Rhinos” in both nostrils. After the third incident, the ENT surgeon at the local hospital wanted to perform an electro cautery on my nose, but I refused, as I had an appointment with Professor Harvey the following week.
Professor Harvey performed a coblation and limited Septodermoplasty at Macquarie University Hospital on 9 February 2017. He was once again very concerned about everything going smoothly after the operation. He telephoned from overseas and asked if I had any pain, soreness or any other symptoms. I was able to assure him that I had some minor soreness and minor pain but nothing else. After 3 or 4 days everything settled down after I carefully followed Professor Harvey’s instructions. I felt confident I was on the way to making a full recovery. He confirmed this when I subsequently visited his rooms. I felt words could not express my gratitude to him for his magnificent work. Since having that operation my life has been transformed from someone afraid to venture out because I might experience a severe nose bleed, to a person who can lead a comparatively “normal” life. I am no longer continually fatigued and lethargic due to blood loss, able to do light exercise, work in my garden as well as attend educational classes. I do have some minor nose bleeding occasionally, however blood tests reveal that my haemoglobin levels are within the normal range.
I should mention there are other “management factors” that help to limit my bleeding. These include:
• Avoiding stressful situations
• A more accepting attitude to having HHT
• Limiting physical activities to manageable levels
• Avoiding medications, beverages, and dietary items that have blood-thinning properties.
I believe such measures help complement Professor Harvey’s good work and reduce incidences and volume of bleeding. These life-style changes require considerable self-discipline, but worth the effort.
Recent studies undertaken by HHT researchers, with support from an organisation called “Cure HHT”, support the above statement. The link is: https://curehht.org – a very informative HHT educational site with a lot of useful, basic information as well as webinars and more advanced data.
As there are a considerable number of people with HHT in Australia needing ENT specialists, I hope my experience is helpful in assisting them to source the expertise they need to manage this condition.
I would recommend, with confidence, Professor Harvey as the most highly qualified and experienced ENT surgeon I have found in Australia.
Anonymous
Very knowledgeable and helpful team, impressive results. Prof Harvey’s approach solved my sinus and breathing problems no other ENT and 3 previous operations solved before.
I am 41 years old and had problems with my nose since childhood.
I had 3 previous operations in the past 25 years and constant visits to different ENTs and allergist consultants. In the past 5 years I was constantly tired, sleep deprived, and had very reduced capacity to breathe through my nose. I had a reoccurring sinusitis, which required me to take antibiotics on average 3 times a year and all together had a big impact on my quality fo life.
I went to Professor Harvey simply to try to manage my symptoms – as another operation was not under consideration. His methodical and scientific approach combined to a very convenient allergy treatment showed me I was in the best hands.
After one year of allergy treatment, no reoccurring sinusitis and no antibiotics, Prof Harvey started to consider the physical aspects of my nose that were reducing my ability to breathe, what happened with previous operations and explained what he would do differently. His confidence and knowledge are very impressive and he gave me confidence to move forward with another operation.
It has been almost 4 months since I did a full nose reconstruction. The recovery was much easier and bruises minimal compared to previous operations. I now sleep so well, like I have never slept in my life! I can breathe though my nose, smell things and I stopped snoring (good for the family!!!). I am grateful I decided to take this step and grateful to Prof. Harvey and his Team for the fantastic work and all assistance before operation, during my recovery and now.
Prof Harvey and his Team look at the problems through combined angles (-i.e. not just the nose or just the allergy). My experience is that makes the entire treatment more efficient, pleasant and convenient (one stop to deal with it all). The result, again, changed my life in a very positive way.
My new nose looks really good outside too! I had to reconstruct the tip of the nose as it was shorten so many times by previous ops – I now look more refreshed, with slightly finer lines, but it is still me, my personality! Friends could not notice I did a big operation within three weeks after that. I could not be happier!
Anonymous
At 70 years of age I have suffered on and off for decades from sinus swelling leading to breathing discomfort and unsettled sleep. I am very grateful indeed that I was referred to Professor Richard Harvey who has provided professional and personal care of a very high order. After surgery I feel “20 years younger” and only wish that I had been able to benefit from such care decades earlier. It is now 6 months since my operation and the benefits continue.