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What is in the Fountain of Youth?

Does the auditory system have to age? Can we become more like turtles or jellyfish and keep our internals running without degradation? This essay considers the theoretical underpinnings of biological processes in the cochlear, in particular the role of the...

Preoperative planning of the surgical patient

This article covers the need to effectively optimise patient status preoperatively to help maximise postoperative outcomes. The article is well written and emphasises close liaison with anaesthetic colleagues particularly regarding airway assessment and nausea and vomiting. As is becoming common...

Pediatric Ear Diseases: Diagnostic Imaging Atlas and Case Reports

This book has been painstakingly compiled to produce a detailed atlas of high resolution CT images of the paediatric temporal bone. The five chapters over 160 pages and 242 high quality figures are very well structured and thoughtfully laid out....

Cochlear implants with an absent or hypoplastic cochlear nerve?

The cornerstone of successful cochlear implantation has been the presence of a population of cochlear nerve endings which are able to mount a neural response to electrical stimulation. The authors of this paper present their experience of five children with...

To scan or not to scan?

This comprehensive review article seeks to establish how useful is MRI in the evaluation of patients with a history of smell loss or distortion. Interestingly, while some studies found the imaging unhelpful, one paper described found a 25% rate of...

Clinical histopathology of 250 parotidectomy patients

Clinical histopathology of 250 parotidectomy patients This is a retrospective study of 250 consecutive parotidectomy patients at units in Belgium and the Netherlands. The sensitivity and specificity of FNAC was 64% and 99% respectively, the sensitivity being slightly lower than...

Radiological diagnosis of mastoiditis in patients screened for acoustic neuroma

Magnetic resonance imaging is the ‘gold standard’ for screening patients suspected to have acoustic neuroma. Various abnormalities are picked up through this investigation, one of which, not uncommonly reported, is mastoiditis. This requires referral to otolaryngology and further evaluation. In...

Preoperative CT checklist (using the ‘CLOSE’ mnemonic) improves identification of anatomical variants for endoscopic sinus surgery

Computed tomography (CT) scans of the paranasal sinuses act as roadmaps for endoscopic sinus surgery (ESS) and careful inspection preoperatively warns the operating surgeon of critical anatomical variants. This study aimed to investigate if implementation of a pre-ESS CT checklist...

Are vascular loops at the CPA of any clinical significance?

Neurotologists have grappled with this question for many years. The aim of the study was to determine the clinical relationship of vertigo symptoms with vascular loop compression syndrome using 3D T2WI turbo spin echo high-resolution MRI. The study included 417...

Best timing for post-treatment PET-CT scans in head and neck cancer

Unfortunately we know that the recurrence rate for head and neck cancer can be high, up to 30-50% in some series. These recurrences tend to occur within the first two years following treatment. Optimal surveillance strategies to detect recurrences early...

Manual of Pediatric Balance Disorders - Second Edition

This is a very welcome and recently updated book for those wishing to learn about paediatric balance disorders. It has a multidisciplinary authorship and therefore all the specialties involved in the management of a child with balance problems should be...

Consider PCR testing in culture negative necrotising otitis externa

Necrotising otitis externa (NOE) often does not yield identification of a causative organism to treat although in 90% of cases it is a member of the pseudomonas species. The incidence of fungal NOE is not to be forgotten and this...