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Transmastoid facial nerve decompression for persistent traumatic facial nerve paralysis

Facial nerve paralysis (FNP) can occur following trauma, with a small number of these patients requiring facial nerve decompression (FND) to aid recovery. The authors shared their experience in decompressing the facial nerve for persistent severe FNP via a transmastoid...

Role of maxillary sinus irrigation as an adjuvant to current management of chronic rhinusitis without polyposis

Several decades have passed since irrigation of maxillary sinuses generally became a treatment of the past. A more recent concept of biofilms may have evoked new interest in this past procedure, fraught with its own issues. In this study, the...

Lateral skull base surgery using the endoscope

Endoscopic lateral skull base surgery could be performed via less invasive techniques due to wide panoramic visualisation of the operative field. With less invasive techniques, patients have been shown to require shorter recovery time and reduced postoperative pain. In this...

The electromagnetic larynx

Current treatment options for a bilateral vocal cord palsy (tracheostomy, posterior cordotomy, arytenoidectomy) are suboptimal, with a focus primarily on a static means of airway restoration at the expense of voice production and potentially swallow safety. This paper reports on...

RCT: tongue retaining devices vs CPAP for OSA

This study compared the effect of a tongue retaining device versus the use of CPAP in 27 patients within a crossover RCT design. Tongue retaining devices (also known as tongue stabilising devices), are similar in appearance to a plastic tongue-sized...

To endo or to micro, that is the question: the musculoskeletal paradigm

Endoscopic ear surgery is a newer concept compared with the microscopic one. Both could lead to musculoskeletal pain due to the long static posture of surgeons during otologic procedures. The authors conducted a study on eight otolaryngologists, four attendings and...

Double suspension sutures for obstructive sleep apnoea

This study examines the benefit of an operation that targets the lateral pharyngeal wall. The double suspension sutures are, in essence, a suture through the palatopharyngeus muscle which is then tied around the hamulus in the retro molar area. This...

Neurological complications associated with managing degenerative cervical myelopathy

Degenerative cervical myelopathy (DCM) is a common neuropathologic status due to degenerative changes to the cervical spine. There are multiple operative techniques available, including anterior cervical discectomy and fusion, anterior cervical corpectomy, laminoplasty, laminectomy and laminectomy with fusion. C5 palsy...

The newest robot from da Vinci – what can it offer for hypopharyngeal cancer surgery?

The standard existing da Vinci surgical robot (the Si model) has been much maligned for not being optimally designed for transoral access and endoscopic manoeuvrability in head and neck surgery. This preclinical work from Holsinger and his team looks at...

Fingernail for orbital floor reconstruction

Orbital damage is common in maxillofacial injuries and about half of them result in damage to the orbital floor. Suitable material that could be used for repairing the orbital floor includes autografts, allografts and alloplastic materials. The disadvantage of using...