How I Do It
SCOTLAND preoperative tympanomastoid CT temporal bone mnemonic system
Learning how to interpret a CT scan of the temporal bones can be a daunting task, especially for a head and neck surgeon like me! However, to make life easier, the authors have devised a useful system to help cover...
Pinnaplasty for prominent ears
Pinnaplasty is a challenging yet rewarding procedure for which many different techniques have been described. In this article the authors describe their favoured technique, including the important postoperative care. Prominent ears can be a source of significant psychological distress in...
Management of benign oesophageal strictures
Benign strictures of the upper oesophagus and pharynx, while not very common, can be a challenging condition to successfully manage. The authors of this article provide us with a detailed description of their technique for using the CO2 laser, balloon...
Awake transnasal laryngeal and pharyngeal biopsy in the unsedated patient
In an attempt to improve the efficiency and flow of patients through a busy ENT clinic, technology now allows the ENT surgeon to consider biopsies in the outpatient setting on a more regular and controlled basis. This can avoid the...
Percutaneous fibre guided laser surgery of the endolarynx
Occasionally, getting access to the larynx for an intervention can be challenging. Markus Hess and Susanne Fleischer describe a novel way to perform laser treatment in such difficult instances. Fibre guided office-based endolaryngeal laser surgery has developed to be a...
Endoscopic excision of cholesteatoma
In this article Vikranth Visvanathan describes an exciting development on the use of endoscopic technology in complex otological practice. Transcanal endoscopic ear surgery (TEES) is rapidly evolving as a recognised method of addressing middle ear and mastoid pathology. Since its...
Bipolar microdebrider turbinoplasty
There are a variety of ways to reduce the bulk of hypertrophied turbinates. Kimberley Lau and Showkat Mirza describe their technique which can be used in difficult cases and with minimal morbidity. As ever, one aim should be to avoid...
Targeted focal parathyroidectomy
Leanne Hamilton and Louise Clark describe their technique for helping to localise parathyoid adenomas. Surgically this can be difficult, so careful preoperative evaluation using imaging as described can help minimise difficulties intraoperatively when identifying the parathyroid adenoma. Preoperative imaging has...
Endoscopic CSF leak repair using nasoseptal flap
Many of us during training or in established practice will have encountered the complication of anterior skull base CSF leak. This can be a challenging problem to deal with and in this article the authors describe their favoured approach. Cerebrospinal...
Nasal and aural foreign body removal: another technique for a common problem
Trying to remove foreign bodies from the ears and noses of children is something we have all struggled with at various times. Many people have their own top tips, and here Oliver McLaren and Alexander Walkden describe an ingenious way...
The utilisation of three-dimensional printed models in skull base surgery
As technology improves, there are new ways to assist with surgeons when it comes to training and preparing for surgery. Barbara Anne Thomson and Georgios Kontorinis highlight how 3D printing can help with the understanding and surgical planning for complex...
Endoscopic DCR
In this interesting article, our experienced colleagues describe their favoured technique for performing endoscopic DCR and share with us the key steps for a successful outcome. Dacrocystorhinostomy (DCR) was historically performed by ophthalmologists for nasolacrimal obstruction using external techniques. The...
