L+M Physician Friday -- Dr. Frank Dellacono

This week’s L+M “Physician Friday” entry starts with a quick quiz: Who knows what an otolaryngologist is?

Here’s a hint. Dr. Frank Dellacono has been one of these specialists at Lawrence + Memorial Hospital for 14 years, and he can treat conditions ranging from hearing loss to an overactive thyroid.

Dr. Dellacono’s field also allows him to apply his surgical expertise in a variety of ways -- treating young children, adults and the elderly, and most of the time those cases have happy outcomes.

If you haven’t guessed, an otolaryngologist is what most people call an “ENT” doctor, or Ear, Nose and Throat specialist.

Years ago, admits Dellacono, he, too, knew little about otolaryngology. He grew up in Vernon and then attended the University of Connecticut. A good athlete, he once had hopes of playing professional baseball, “but as time went on, I realized I was going to be more of a student than an athlete, and I realized I really enjoyed medicine.”

Dellacono went on from college to UConn Medical School and then a five-year residency in his field at the UConn Health Center. He had several job offers after his residency, but chose to join the L+M team in southeastern Connecticut partly because, he says, “I like the ocean. I like the beach. And, I like not being in traffic.”

But Dellacono also loves working at L+M because the hospital has provided state-of- the-art operating rooms with the latest technologies at both the main hospital in New London and at the Pequot Health Center in Groton, where he does the majority of his surgery.

“We do offer the most advanced ways of taking care of ear, nose and throat problems,” he says. “For example, we can do image-guided sinus surgery. We can do balloon sinuplasty, expanding the nasal passages in a less-invasive manner than surgery.”

Dellacono’s work these days involves everything from removing tonsils in children to helping older patients with hearing aids.

“I like happy outcomes,” he says. “I like being in a field with a lot of success. You just try to do your best. My feeling has always been that I’m going to treat you like I was sitting in your chair. And when the moms and dads are worried, I tell them I’m going to treat your child like he or she is my own. As long as you keep your feet grounded and you treat people honestly and in a straight-forward manner, they really appreciate that.”

Dellacono is particularly good with his pediatric patients in part because he and his wife, Laurel, who live in Stonington, have three children of their own: two boys, ages 12 and 6, and a 10-year-old girl.

“Another thing nice about ENT,” he says, “is you get out at a decent hour, so I can actually get home and play with the kids and coach their sports, and that’s what I’ve become now -- I’m like a major coach. I’ve coached football and basketball, and I am the director of Major League baseball in Pawcatuck. I help coach my sons’ teams, and I help out when I can with my daughter’s softball team.”

He jokes, “I’ll probably need therapy when the kids get older, and I don’t get to do this anymore.”

Most of the problems Dellacono treats as an otolaryngologist are not life threatening, but “we can make a big difference in the quality of someone’s life,” he says. “If there’s any issue you’re unsure about with your sinuses – if you can’t breathe through your nose or you’re having sinus or allergy problems – we’ll do our best to make that better.”

The same is true for your ears and throat. “Basically, with anything between your skull base and your sternum, aside from your eyes and teeth, we can help, Dellacono says. “My advice is not to wait until another doctor tells you to get help. If you’re having trouble, come see us. We can help you.”

To learn more about Dr. Dellacono, click here.