Here to help you breathe easier, sleep deeper, and feel more at home in your body.

Hi there! You can call me Colleen.

I created my practice knowing what it feels like to move through the world in a body and brain that don’t always fit neatly inside conventional systems—including healthcare.

Around here, we care deeply about helping people breathe better, sleep better, and feel more at home in themselves. We also believe good care should feel collaborative, thoughtful, and genuinely human.

You don’t need to mask, rush, perform “easy patient” energy, or have all the right words before coming in. We’ll figure things out together.

A little bit about me–

Colleen Plein, MD

Things I Believe

Deep sleep and clear breathing is more important than we realize.
All people deserve excellent healthcare, not just those who fit a patient-for-profit model.
Your body is not a problem.
Patients should never feel rushed into decisions.
Sleep deprivation can ruin your whole personality– and severely impact many other parts of life.
Being deeply competent and deeply human are not opposites, even if medicine wants us doctors to believe that.

Outside the Office

Raising two wonderfully weird kids with my wife
Probably diving deep into my latest hyperfixation
Listening to music loudly while admiring my kid’s new artwork
Searching for the most authentic recipe for Cacio e Pepe (a fave!)
Forgetting breakfast again

Alternate Life Colleen

If I hadn’t become a surgeon, I probably would’ve:

Fronted an indie band

Other Fun Facts

Board-certified in Otolaryngology–Head & Neck Surgery.
Trained at the University of Chicago and SUNY Downstate.
More than 10 years helping people breathe and sleep better.
Somehow became both a surgeon and a life coach.
Still thinks curiosity is one of the most useful tools in medicine.

PATIENT CARE

Let’s talk about what we help you do.

COME IN AND SEE US!

Breathe Easier

Allergies, congestion, sinus issues, chronic inflammation, and the feeling that your nose has personally declared war on you.

Sleep Deeper

Snoring, sleep-disordered breathing, exhaustion, mouth breathing, and waking up feeling like sleep somehow made things worse.

Hurt Less

Facial pressure, headaches, sinus pain, jaw tension, chronic discomfort, and the exhausting ripple effects pain has on daily life.

What A Lot of My Patients End up Saying

“I actually had no idea what it felt like to breathe deeply until after I worked with you.”

Questions People Ask Before They Find Us

If breathing through your nose feels difficult, blocked, or impossible—especially on one side—there may be an underlying cause worth investigating. Structural issues, chronic inflammation, allergies, sinus disease, and other factors can all play a role.
The good news? Many people discover there are more options than simply "living with it."
No!
Many patients tell me they've felt congested for so long they assumed it was just how their body works.
Constant congestion, post-nasal drip, facial pressure, or difficulty breathing through your nose may point to an issue that's worth evaluating.
Sleep quantity and sleep quality aren't the same thing.
Snoring, sleep apnea, mouth breathing, and airway issues can affect how restorative your sleep actually is.
Many patients are surprised to learn their breathing—not their schedule—is contributing to their exhaustion.

Facial pain, pressure, headaches, and discomfort around the eyes, cheeks, forehead, or jaw can have many causes.
Sometimes it's related to sinus disease.
Sometimes it isn't. But it’s often related to breathing.
Part of my job is helping determine what's actually causing your symptoms.
You're not imagining it.
Environmental allergies can change over time and can significantly affect breathing, sleep, congestion, sinus health, and overall quality of life.
If medications aren't helping the way they used to, it may be time to take a closer look.
In many cases, yes.
Snoring can be related to issues inside the nose, airway, or throat. Understanding what's causing it is the first step toward finding a solution.