Journal Reviews
Preventing major postoperative haemorrhage following TORS
Transoral robotic surgery (TORS) has become an increasingly utilised treatment modality in the management of oropharyngeal squamous cell carcinoma (OPSCC). Postoperative haemorrhage, although uncommon, is a significant complication. To ameliorate this risk, transcervical ligation of branches of the external carotid...
A 3D-printed endoscopic sinus surgery simulator – validity testing
The challenge of gaining sufficient experiential learning to successfully navigate the learning curve toward competence has long been a challenge in surgical education. The COVID-19 pandemic, and its impact on elective capacity, has presented a further challenge to the acquisition...
Predictors of diabetes insipidus post-hypophysectomy
Transient diabetes insipidus (DI) after pituitary surgery is not uncommon and its diagnosis fairly obvious. Permanent DI is rare and often depends on the neurosurgeon’s experience. This retrospective study describes a large series of patients with majority undergoing endoscopic transsphenoidal...
Complications associated with microlaryngoscopy surgery
Microlaryngoscopy procedures are often considered to be routine procedures at the straightforward end of the ENT operative spectrum. Complications associated with this surgery are thought to be infrequent and primarily related to the possibility of dental trauma and adverse voice...
Antibiotics in orthognathic surgery
This paper from the Netherlands looked at 137 patients over a one-year period, 18 of whom had Le Fort I procedures, 68 bilateral sagittal split surgery, and 51 bi-maxillary surgery. A further 54 surgical procedures were undertaken, including 15 having...
3D-printed temporal bone models - how good can they be?
In the era of increasingly difficult and expensive-to-come-by cadaveric temporal bones with which to practise drilling and learn the complex 3D anatomy of the temporal bone, decent alternatives would be welcome. McMillan et al report a prospective comparison study in...
Earlier intervention to correct anosmia?
This is an interesting study aimed to determine the timing for successful surgical intervention in improving the sense of smell in patients with chronic rhinosinusitis with nasal polyps (CRSwNP). A total of 86 CRSwNP patients with loss of smell and...
British Skull Base Society Clinical Consensus Document on Management of Head and Neck Paragangliomas (HNPGLs)
All forms of HNPGLs should be managed by a multidisciplinary team (MDT) of core members from skull base otolaryngology, head and neck surgery, clinical genetics, oncology, endocrinology, vascular surgery, radiology and pathology. Extended members include neurosurgery, endocrine surgery, nuclear medicine,...
Eustachian tube dysfunction usually improves following endoscopic sinus surgery
This study investigated effects of endoscopic sinus surgery (ESS) on eustachian tube dysfunction (ETD) and factors associated with improvement. This was a retrospective study which included 302 patients over 17 years old who underwent ESS between 1 December 2016 and...
Fibula free flap virtual or freehand planning and the efficiency of surgery
This is a systematic review from surgeons in Italy and Florida where, from an initial 799 potentially relevant articles, only six could be included. Efficiency was assessed by the mean ischemia time which, for the virtual group, was 73.8 minutes,...
Location, location, location: How to get the steroid where you need it, in chronic rhinosinusitis
What almost all current guidelines on chronic rhinosinusitis have in common is the importance of intranasal steroid (INCS) use. However, it is increasingly understood that the efficacy of INCS depends on their efficient delivery to the point of need, i.e....
Surgical outcomes of myringoplasty using platelet-rich plasma
Tympanic membrane (TM) perforations can affect people’s quality of life due to recurrent infections. Management is often by surgical repair. In this study, the authors investigated the outcomes of a minimally invasive approach of patch myringoplasty using an atelocollagen sponge...
