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What is balloon eustachian tuboplasty (BET)?

Eustachian tube dysfunction (ETD) is the result of a combination of factors that interfere with the mucosal functional or cartilaginous structures. Failure to open the eustachian tubes can cause aural pain, pressure in the ears, muffled hearing, crackling/popping sounds in...

A new bio-glue for neurosurgical wound closures

Dural closures need to be tight to prevent cerebrospinal fluid leaks. Traditional wound closure techniques involve sutures and DuraSeal which is the only FDA approved polyglycol hydrogel sealant with proven safety and efficacy profile. This article describes a new sealant,...

Skull base imaging: a review

This excellent review paper describes the anatomy, imaging protocols and differentiating imaging findings on CT and MRI in myriad skull base lesions. Skull base protocol MRI and thin section CT are required to evaluate all skull base lesions. According to...

Deep space neck infections and their management

This article explores the approach to managing patients with deep space neck infections. Clearly, an understanding of the fascial planes within the neck is required which then provides an understanding of the route of spread in these cases. The authors...

Above and beyond interprofessional learning

There has been a significant focus on interprofessional education for all health professionals over recent years. The American Speech-Language-Hearing Association became a member of the Interprofessional Education Collaborative (IPEC) competencies (in America) in 2016. These competencies provide four core competencies...

The earlier the better: learning to work together

Working as part of a team can be the most challenging aspect of any health professional’s job role. The authors of this article acknowledge that this is frequently considered a skill that can only be learnt ‘on the job’. Yet...

Graft material success for tympanoplasty

This retrospective Belgian study looked at the success rates of xenograft and human allograft materials as alternatives to more common autograft materials like fascia, fat or cartilage. A total of 71 consecutive patients who underwent type 1 tympanoplasty were included,...

Parathyroid surgery in day care

Targeted parathyroid adenoma excision via preoperative ultrasound and radionuclide scanning techniques allow accurate localisation of the affected gland, allowing a minimally invasive surgical approach. The authors reviewed 144 cases undergoing surgery for primary hyperparathyroidism. Of these 67 were eligible for...

Paediatric nasopharyngeal carcinoma

Between 11 and 18% of nasopharyngeal carcinomas (NPC) occur in the paediatric age group but there are no specific management guidelines for this age group. Tunisia is a region with an intermediate incidence of NPC, the authors studied 40 cases...

Multi-layered repair of lateral sphenoid CSF rhinorrhoea

This case series describes the author’s results with repairing lateral sphenoid encephalocoeles in seven patients. Alloderm inlay with abdominal fat onlay and nasoseptal flap onlay repair resulted in a 100% success rate with no recurrence of cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) rhinorrhoea,...

Post-thyroidectomy vocal cord palsy: are there long-term sequelae?

This is a well written paper utilising the Hospital Episode Statistics dataset for all thyroidectomies performed in England between 2004 and 2012. The study had a very impressive 43,515 participants and only included young, fit patients undergoing thyroidectomy once for...

The double-half bilobed flap or traditional bilobed flap: which is better?

Reconstruction of the nasal tip following ablative surgery can be taxing. The nasal tip is a very visible area with largely immovable skin and reconstruction needs an appreciation of the various subunits to achieve best results. The traditional superiorly based...