Journal Reviews
Surgery for hypopharyngeal obstruction causing OSA
Surgical treatments for OSA are evolving with improved diagnostic accuracy of the level(s) involved. Where the collapsing segment lies below the soft palate, a variety of surgical techniques to correct the affected segment(s) are emerging. This article concentrates on one...
Diagnosis of osteonecrosis of the jaw
Although the management of osteonecrosis of the jaw is usually provided by colleagues in maxillofacial surgery, it is essential for ENT surgeons to effectively diagnose the various presentations of this condition. Affected bone that is exposed and necrotic may remain...
Velopharyngeal insufficiency after adenotonsillectomy
The authors retrospectively reviewed the clinical records of 320 paediatric patients who underwent either tonsillectomy, adenoidectomy or adenotonsillectomy, under a single paediatric ENT surgeon. Patients with pre-existing velopharyngeal insufficiency (VPI) were excluded, as assessed by preoperative testing for nasal air...
Cochlear implanted children are more likely to have device failure if their balance function is impaired
We know that children with permanent hearing loss are more likely to have an associated balance problem. It is also thought that children with cochlear implants (CI) that fail do so because of an increased risk of falls and head...
Thalidomide in HHT
An interesting paper from a specialist centre in the Netherlands regarding the use of thalidomide in HHT patients. The St Antonius hospital has 1238 patients with HHT and 1% of these use thalidomide. The aim was to assess the benefits,...
Time to endoscopic sinus surgery and outcomes
A well written prospective study, which demonstrates that patients who require endoscopic sinus surgery, should be operated on without long delay since this achieves better and more sustained outcomes. There were 1493 patients undergoing primary nasal surgery who had completed...
Which is worse – unilateral or bilateral tinnitus?
Few studies have analysed subjective aspects of tinnitus or the association between clinical characteristics and the directionality of tinnitus. The study subjects comprised 207 patients who presented with tinnitus over two years and underwent tinnitus-related physical examinations and tinnitograms (includes...
Patient reported outcomes improve if antibiotic choice is directed from endoscopic culture results in chronic rhinosinusitis
The use of antibiotics in chronic rhinosinusitis (CRS) has been established as part of the EPOS guidelines, as has the role of taking swabs for microbiology culture. There has not been much literature however on whether tailoring antibiotics in response...
No soup for you…! Early identification of postoperative perforation increases the success of conservative management
Iatrogenic perforation of the hypopharynx or cervical oesophagus is a well-recognised life-threatening complication. Previous studies have demonstrated that conservative management with broad-spectrum antibiotics and withholding oral feeding may avoid morbidity associated with surgical repair. This study addresses when conservative management...
Middle ear pressures with different anaesthetic agents
The use of appropriate anaesthetic agents is essential to avoid complications during middle ear surgery. This Turkish study attempted to identify whether intravenous (IV) anaesthetics (propofol) or inhalational agents (sevoflurane) cause more variations in middle ear pressures. The authors performed...
Surgery in the only hearing ear
In this study the Turkish authors attempted to investigate how quality of life was impacted in patients who underwent surgery for chronic otitis media in their only remaining hearing ear (OHE). Some surgeons view this as high risk due to...
Do the modern multiple microphones with beamforming facility really help implantees?
In this study the authors aimed to assess the benefit beamforming multiple microphones provide to implantees. Speech reception thresholds were assessed in different situations; fixed masking noise from eight loudspeakers around the subject at 0°, ±45°, ±90°, ±135°, and 180°...
