Deep neck infections
This study from Shanghai is a retrospective review of 142 patients presenting to an ENT hospital with deep neck infections (DNIs). The findings of the study are comparable to many of the previous studies, however the authors found tonsillitis and...
Anterior skull-base surgery: current opinion
This review examines the changes in the field of anterior skull-base surgery and the rapid advancement that has taken place in the last 10–15 years. Tumours of the anterior skull base that were once considered inoperable are now routinely resected...
Patients with advanced oral cavity carcinoma are not candidates for the ‘organ preservation’ approach
The authors of this study, from the University of Michigan, evaluated the role of induction chemotherapy for patients with stages III and IV resectable oral squamous cell carcinoma. Nineteen patients were initially enrolled in the induction chemotherapy cohort. Patients with...
Lipofilling for scar improvement
1 January 2015
| Sunil K Bhatia
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ENTA - Head & Neck, Maxillofacial Surgery
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Autologous lipofilling, Laser Doppler spectrometry, Minimally invasive surgery, Scar correction, Tissue microcirculation
Since Coleman et al. in 1991 reported on lipofilling, numerous applications have been reported; these include but are not limited to contour restoration, lip augmentation, and wrinkle therapy. There has also been some one off reported improvements in scars following...
Preoperative tumour embolisation
1 January 2015
| Gentle Wong
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ENTA - Head & Neck
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Carotid body tumor, Embolization, Glomus tumor, Juvenile nasal angiofibroma, Meningioma, NBCA, Onyx, Spinal tumor
This review article analyses the role of preoperative endovascular tumour embolisation in the treatment of a variety of hypervascular head and neck lesions including juvenile nasal angiofibroma, glomus tumour, carotid body tumours, and meningioma. Although the concept of tumour embolisation...
Postoperative complications in OSA patients
1 January 2015
| Vik Veer
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ENTA - Head & Neck
This well researched meta-analysis describes the various complications obstructive sleep apnoea (OSA) patients may acquire after surgery. These American reviewers found that OSA patients after non-upper airway operations, were more like to suffer (compared to non-OSA patients), from the following...
Primary ossicular chain reconstruction in open-cavity mastoidectomy
The authors performed a retrospective analysis of 21 patients who had undergone primary reconstruction of the ossicular chain during canal-wall-down mastoidectomy. The ossiculoplasty technique used consisted of removal of the malleus head and division of tensor tympani, and rotation of...
A new septoplasty technique
1 November 2014
| Ravi Thevasagayam
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ENTA - Skull Base Surgery, ENTA - Head & Neck
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Deviation, High dorsal deviation, Nasal septum, Septoplasty, Wedge
This article describes a novel septoplasty technique to correct a cartilaginous deflection. Although it took a while to understand it as the operative photographs were not very helpful it is an interesting concept. The author excises an inferior strip and...
Risk factors for post tonsillectomy bleeds
1 November 2014
| Ravi Thevasagayam
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ENTA - Skull Base Surgery, ENTA - Head & Neck
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Bleeding, Postoperative hemorrhage, Reoperation, Tonsillectomy
This paper reviews post-tonsillectomy bleeding in 692 patients and attempts to tease out risk factors. The overall bleed rate of 11.6% seems very high. The return to theatre rate was 2.6%. The paper identifies male patients and adult patients as...
Is it time for cone-beam CTs to replace the traditional orthopantomogram in the primary diagnosis of temporomandibular joint disorders?
1 November 2014
| Sampath Chandra Prasad
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Maxillofacial Surgery, ENTA - Skull Base Surgery, ENTA - Head & Neck
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Cone beam computed tomography, Decision making, Diagnosis, Disorders, Temporomandibular joint
Cone-beam CT requires a lower dose of radiation compared to the multidetector CT and provides much more detailed information in 3D about the bony structures of the temporomandibular joint (TMJ) when compared to the traditional orthopantomogram (OPG). In this article...
Fungal rhinosinusitis
Allergic fungal rhinosinusitis (AFRS) has been defined by the following characteristics: presence of nasal discharge, nasal obstruction, decreased sense of smell or facial pressure for 12 weeks, mucin within the sinus cavity containing fungal hyphae and degranulating eosinophils, endoscopic evidence...
Tracheostomy safety project
Tracheostomy care is evolving, with the majority of procedures now performed percutaneously to facilitate weaning from mechanical ventilation in the critically ill. Traditional surgical indications remain, but surgical tracheostomies are increasingly performed in more complex patients. This brings unique challenges...
