Alen N Cohen, MD - West Hills, CA

various benign tumors or masses can arise in the head and neck region ranging from superficial skin lesions such as cysts or skin tags to deeper more infiltrating masses like lipomas and branchial cleft cysts.

skin cancer is a disease in which cancer (malignant) cells are found in the outer layers of your skin. there are several types of cancer that originate in the skin. the most common types are basal cell carcinoma (70 percent of all skin cancers) and squamous cell carcinoma (20 percent).

benign or malignant lesions can develop on the vocal cords. benign non-cancerous growths on the vocal cords are most often caused by voice misuse or overuse, which causes trauma to the vocal cords. these lesions (or "bumps") on the vocal cord(s) alter vocal cord vibration and lead to hoarseness. the most common vocal cord lesions are nodules, polyps, and cysts.

a hemithyroidectomy is a surgical procedure where only half of the thyroid gland is removed in cases where a suspicious nodule is found on one side or the fine needle aspiration (fna) cannot definitely determine if a nodule is benign or malignant.

this is one of the most common procedures performed to improve nasal obstruction when necessary. the septum is made of bone and cartilage and is the dividing wall between the two nasal passages.