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Anterolateral thigh cutaneous flap or radial forearm free flap for tongue defect reconstruction?

Free flap reconstruction is the gold standard in tongue reconstruction, aiming to restore function such as swallowing, cosmesis and speech. The anterolateral thigh cutaneous flap and the radial forearm free flap are among the most popular free flaps used for...

3D endoscopy in pituitary adenoma surgery

Endoscopic approach for pituitary adenoma surgery is well recognised. There has been recent refinement of 3D endoscopy technology which improves on the depth of vision offered and more compact delivery. This may improve visualisation of the critical structures involved in...

Early results of the Cochlear Osia (active transcutaneous bone-conduction implant) in teenagers

This funded research trial involving 14 adolescents, aged 10 to 17 years, in the Toronto Hospital for Sick Kids was carried out just prior to the new Osia implant obtaining FDA approval for use in the USA. The majority had...

Navigate me there, to my new CAT

Transcanal endoscopic ear surgery (TEES) has gained momentum with its close-up high definition wide-angled views. Skeptics point out single-handed operating in a 2D view. The authors made use of navigation and augmented reality (AR) to present an additional minimal access...

Amount of dietary iodine and thyroid cancer

Two molecular scientists from Zurich wrote this paper as a systematic review, asking the question of whether dietary iodine intake is a risk factor for developing thyroid cancer later on life. They speculate that low iodine intake is a risk...

Children like to talk

When a health professional, including speech and language therapists, treats a child, they will often ask the parent or relative of the child for information on the issue and its impact. Yet children will frequently have an opinion on their...

Your voice and your personality

Variations of vocal effort are a normal adaptation to difficult communication situations. However, persistence of these abnormal strategies can lead to various functional dysphonias. In this experiment, the authors tested 41 females aged 18-52. The subjects were asked to instruct...

Let the maths do the talking for word-finding difficulties

Anomia (word-finding difficulties) can arise when a person has a stroke, dementia or other neurological disorder affecting the left (typically) hemisphere of the brain. There are lots of theories underlying the process of word retrieval, many of which have not...

Invest in parents: motivation is key

Home practice is a key component in promoting generalisation of what is learned in speech and language therapy sessions to the real world. Yet time constraints, stress, ambivalence toward practice and increased care demands when a child has a disability...

Say what you don’t mean: cognitive difficulties in Parkinson’s can worsen intelligibility

Hypokinetic dysarthria, seen in 70–90% of people with Parkinson’s, causes reduced range of movement during speech production, reduced volume, rate, pitch and intelligibility. This study aimed to explore the role of higher cognitive function in speech production by asking 20...

Starry eyed?

Attentive listening and active listening skills suggest that eye movement is an important factor in subject engagement. Indeed, when asked, AI suggests gaze is held for 70% of the time when listening. Although the route of this percentage is unclear,...