Journal Reviews
Speech predictors after glossectomy
This is a cross-sectional study from India where 69 patients were assessed for speech intelligibility and phonetics using an assessment tool in the local language. Volume defects were classified into thirds and the location of this defect noted. Not unsurprisingly,...
Sublingual gland tumour resection
This paper from South Korea analyses the pathology arising from 20 malignant sublingual gland tumours. Adenoid cystic carcinoma followed by mucoepidermoid carcinomas were the most common. Tumour invasion into the lingual nerve was detected in 40% of cases, and into...
Clinical pathological features associated with malignant change in oral leukoplakias
This is a retrospective study from Sweden where 234 patients, diagnosed between 2003 and 2013 with a median nine-year follow-up, were reviewed. Of these 234 patients, 11.5% developed oral squamous cell carcinoma. Non-homogenous leukoplakia showed a 15-times higher transformation rate...
Ultrasound-guided core biopsy of neck lumps as first-line investigative modality supersedes fine needle aspiration cytology in the diagnosis of neck lumps
Ultrasound-guided fine needle aspiration cytology (USFNAC) when applied as initial investigation often proves non-diagnostic, the incidence being as high as 50% in a recent audit. In this study, the authors applied ultrasound-guided core biopsy (USCB) to neck lumps over 1cm...
Ethanol ablation for benign cystic neck lesions
Benign cystic head and neck lesions have traditionally been managed conservatively or with surgical excision. Ethanol ablation (EA) has now established a role in the management of benign thyroid cysts, and its use has also been expanded to non-thyroid cysts....
Is there a limitation for excising parapharyngeal tumours transorally?
The parapharyngeal space is a complex anatomical space bounded medially by the oropharynx and laterally by the mandible. It is conceptualised as an inverted pyramid extending from base of skull above to the hyoid bone below. The space is divided...
A therapeutic algorithm for tracheoesophageal periprosthetic leakage
Tracheoesophageal voice prosthesis leakage can be intravalvular (more common) or periprosthetic (focus of this study). The authors studied the causes of periprosthetic leakage among 115 patients attending for voice prosthesis management (1374 clinic attendances) treated between December 2014 to December...
Coblation for lingual haemangiomas
Haemangiomas are benign vascular tumours characterised histologically by a marked proliferation of blood vessels. They can be either congenital or acquired, and can affect the tongue, both within the oral cavity and the oropharynx. A variety of interventions exist for...
Treatment of internal carotid artery blowout with embolisation and bypass grafting (nasopharyngeal carcinoma)
Carotid artery blowout syndrome (CBS) occurs when there is rupture of the carotid artery causing massive epistaxis and bleeding through the oral cavity caused by tumour invasion, surgery, radiotherapy, or infection. This article proposes a revascularisation strategy for internal carotid...
Core biopsies are good enough for lymphomas
This paper, from the South of England, has reviewed ultrasound-guided core needle biopsies over a six-year period investigating the use of the detection of head and neck lymphomas. There were 367 samples included from 226 patients; 215 of the 226...
Reducing the risk of Frey’s syndrome after parotidectomy – which methods are best?
Gustatory sweating or Frey’s syndrome is a well-recognised complication of parotid surgery. The reported incidence is highly variable, from 4% to 96%, with around 30% of patients reporting symptoms. A number of intraoperative techniques can be used to reduce the...
Structures determining T4a, T4b
This paper for tertiary cancer centre in India attempted to determine whether patients with T4b oral cancers involving the 'masticator space' should be treated with survival intent comparable to T4a cancers. Over a 7-year period, 30 patients with T4b cancers...
