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Reducing the risk of Frey’s syndrome after parotidectomy – which methods are best?

Gustatory sweating or Frey’s syndrome is a well-recognised complication of parotid surgery. The reported incidence is highly variable, from 4% to 96%, with around 30% of patients reporting symptoms. A number of intraoperative techniques can be used to reduce the...

To use or not to use: absorbable sutures for facial wounds

This systematic literature review looked at studies comparing facial skin closure with absorbable versus non-absorbable sutures. Studies not published in English or looking at areas other than the head and neck, and studies focused on suture technique rather than material...

The push towards scarless parotid surgery

When dealing with benign parotid pathology, high expectations are placed on the operating surgeon to preserve key neurovascular structures, especially the animating facial nerve, through meticulous dissection. With time, there has been a greater emphasis on improving cosmesis in parotid...

Treating keloid scarring with pressure clips following excision: does it work?

Keloid scars can pose a difficult management problem. Whilst not harmful in themselves they can be cosmetically unappealing and lead to social embarrassment and resulting isolation, and following surgical excision they often reoccur. Mechanical pressure is an adjuvant to surgical...

Scary Cases in Otolaryngology

When I was first presented with the Halloween-like graphic that is displayed on the cover of this 230-page book, I wondered what scary stories may lie ahead. To my delight, by the time I’d turned over the first few pages,...

Facial Surgery: Plastic and Reconstructive

Following Professor Cheney’s first popular publication in 1995 on flaps and reconstruction and subsequent second edition, he has now co-edited with Tessa Hadlock a comprehensive two-volume production. They have put together an extensive range of plastic and reconstructive surgery in...

ENT Board Prep

ENT Board Prep by F Lin and Z Patel is an extremely comprehensive revision guide that covers all topics relevant to the American Board of Otolaryngology exam. UK trainees will undoubtedly also benefit with respect to the FRCS exam, given...

Speech in noise hearing difficulties

The phenomenon of speech understanding in noise in normal hearing people attracts the interest of researchers continuously. This study’s aim was to further explore the possible reasons behind these difficulties. The participants were 50 adults that reported having normal hearing...

I am Malala

Tuesday 9th October, 2012 started like any other ordinary day in the life of a 15-year-old girl in Swat, Northern Pakistan. A trip to school and back with an exam in the morning. But this was not a normal day,...

The septum, outside!

Extracorporeal sculpturing of the septum during septorhinoplasty (SRP) is a well-established technique. However, the extent of manipulations of the septum varies amongst authors. In a series of 630 patients undergoing SRP, the authors used a complex extracorporeal septal three dimensional...