ENT features
Electronic nicotine delivery systems (e-cigarettes): what you need to know
As an aid to stopping smoking e-cigarettes may have a role, but they are heavily promoted by industry as a leisure pursuit and desirable fashion accessory. Sneh Biyani and Craig Derkay gives a thorough account of what we know about...
Adolescence, drug use and body image
Teenagers are notoriously conscious of how they are perceived by others. Dr Saraiva and colleagues explain how this can lead to problems with substance abuse for both boys and girls, and discuss the different substances they may encounter. Adolescence is...
Tonsillectomy in adolescents
Tonsillectomy is one of the most common operations performed across the developed world. Salil Sood and Ray Clarke discuss the special considerations that apply when performing this procedure on adolescent patients. Tonsillitis in teenagers can be exceptionally painful and disruptive....
What does an Olympic medal and surgery have in common?
Competing against female Eastern Bloc athletes in the 1980s was a thankless task, demanding a mulish tenacity in an often futile cause. Ideal preparation for a career in surgery? My path to medicine was unusual, in that I left school...
Endoscopic ear surgery in children
The benefits of endoscopes in otologic surgery, which have become increasingly widely appreciated in recent years, are very well suited to the management of paediatric middle ear disease. Although one might imagine that the smaller ear canal of a child...
Sleep apnoea in children with craniofacial syndromes
Whilst snoring and obstructive sleep apnoea are relatively common diagnoses in paediatric ENT, children with craniofacial syndromes take the problem to the next level. Robert Nash and Michelle Wyatt describe the Great Ormond Street multidisciplinary approach to treating this complex...
Acupuncture for tonsillectomy pain in children
The challenge: tonsillectomy pain Tonsillectomy is a uniform surgical insult which results in a 10-day recovery for children. Severe pain can occur which can give rise to poor oral fluid intake, dehydration and potentially the need for intravenous fluid resuscitation....
Hidden genetic disorders in children that may present to the otolaryngologist
Background Among the many hundreds of children presenting to the otolaryngology clinic are a few whose symptoms are due to an underlying genetic condition. In most cases the underlying syndrome is obvious and has already been diagnosed, such as the...
Developing medical devices for children: opportunities and challenges
The development of medical devices for infants and children lags significantly behind the development of devices for adults. While in the United States the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has set up incentives for developing child age-specific pharmaceuticals, there is...
