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Incidental thyroid nodules: should we observe or operate?

Thyroid nodules are extraordinarily prevalent, detected by physical examination in 7% and by imaging studies in 67% of the population. Although most of these nodules are benign, up to 20% are found to be malignant on excision. It’s a very...

Newborn sensorineural hearing loss – what is the incidence?

In the last two decades, the introduction of newborn screening for hearing loss has dramatically lowered the average age of newborn hearing loss diagnosis to around two to three months of age. The benefits of early diagnosis are manifold, enabling...

Persistent dysphonia due to cricothyroid muscle dystonia – should we be requesting laryngeal EMGs for non-resolving ‘functional’ dysphonia?

This article is an interesting report of a case of persistent voice problems affecting a 43-year-old physician that significantly compromised her ability to converse and communicate at work. Specifically, she had a fluctuating voice quality that would ‘choke off’, combined...

Outcome of TORS to tongue base and epiglottis in patients with OSA intolerant of conventional treatment

The use of transoral robotic surgery (TORS) in ENT is rather controversial, but the use of robotic surgery for obstructive sleep apneoa (OSA), makes it doubly so. Previous studies on TORS in OSA have been performed with other types of...

Cochlear implantation in SSD

There are currently several trials for cochlear implantation (CI) in single-sided deafness (SSD) being undertaken to answer some of the questions this paper from New York raises. Who is best suited to receive one? What are their outcomes and how...

Salivary gland blues…

Intravenous methylene blue is a well-described method to assist in intraoperative localisation of parathyroid glands. The technique does come with challenges as anybody will know who has had to run adjacent to a theatre-bound trolley to ensure that the infusion...

Facial reconstruction with polyethylene implants

Planning reconstructive surgery for complex craniofacial defects challenges even the most experienced of surgeons. In most cases surgery is undertaken to improve anatomical functioning. However the anatomical structure of these regions is also critical to facial aesthetics and patient satisfaction...

MicroREC Optical System

The MicroREC is a product by Custom Surgical, a German medtech company, and works as an attachment for an operating microscope to enable procedures to be viewed and recorded on a smartphone. It’s advertised as a device used in ENT,...