Journal Reviews
Risk of malignancy in non-diagnostic thyroid FNACs
Thyroid nodules are present in between 21-68% of the general population. The evaluation of these nodules to exclude thyroid carcinoma includes fine-needle aspiration cytology (FNAC) and a non-diagnostic cytology result occurs between 8-20% of the time. This retrospective cohort study...
Balloon dilatation is an effective adjunct
This is a good study design, sufficiently powered, comparing medical management to balloon sinus dilatation. All patients had failed medical management and were thoroughly assessed preoperatively with Lund-Mackay score confirming abnormal CT findings, SNOT 20 index score, chronic sinusitis score...
CI and CP
Quality of life improvement is one of the main goals of cochlear implantation. Mobile phones are now a standard daily tool. For many implanted patients, a mobile phone is used for sending short messages rather than for voice calls. This...
Predicting speech recognition in adults with cochlear implants
This was a combined prospective and retrospective study from Belgium that looked at factors influencing speech recognition scores in quiet conditions (retrospectively) and speech reception threshold levels (SRT) in fixed noise conditions (prospectively) after cochlear implantation in postlingually deaf adults....
Positive practical communication skills for medics
Communication training for medical students generally focuses on communicating with unimpaired individuals. This article describes how a speech and language therapy department at the University of Gothenburg in Sweden trialled a new approach to teaching medical students. Fifty-nine undergraduate medical...
Reconstruction with scapular tip following hemimaxillectomy and rehabilitation with dental implants
Post ablative defects in the maxilla can be extremely complex, involve all three dimensions and may result in significant morbidity. Rehabilitation may be difficult with either an obturator or surgical reconstruction with a free fibula, Iliac crest or scapula. This...
Does endoscopic stapling for pharyngeal pouch supersede open repair?
Endoscopic stapling for pharyngeal pouch is generally considered to be less invasive, safe and with fewer complications, resulting in quicker recovery and a shorter hospital stay. Whether these factors hold in the long-term follow-up is the subject of this interesting...
Can WhatsApp aid surgical team communication?
This plastic surgery team discuss their experience with using WhatsApp instant messaging over the last three years. WhatsApp is now commonplace amongst surgical teams in hospitals, for both social and business interactions. In the authors’ experience, WhatsApp allows team discussions...
Growing up smelling the roses
How often do we ask about sense of smell in children? Undoubtedly, the olfactory function is seldom formally assessed in the paediatric population, although evidence exists to suggest its potential links with handicap in children’s learning and development. This large...
Using SNOT-22 to predict revision sinus cases
A simple way of predicting which patients will require revision endoscopic surgery does not yet exist. This study, which is a prospective, longitudinal cohort study, part of the UK national audit, aims to predict this by using a relatively simple,...
Imagine a future without hearing loss
This article reflects on both the past 20 years and the next 20 years of research and service provision for children who are deaf or hard of hearing. The authors describe how universal newborn hearing screens have had a dramatic...
A multidisciplinary approach to the management of frontal sinus fracture
Frontal sinus fractures account for about 5% of all facial trauma. Fractures of the posterior wall may result in cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) leak and meningitis, while obstruction of the outflow tract can cause sinusitis and mucocele formation. However, there are...
