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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...

Factors affecting the occurrence of salivary fistula after total laryngectomy

It is generally believed that patients should be fed by nasogastric tube for 7-10 days after undergoing total laryngectomy or laryngopharyngectomy to avoid the occurrence of post-operative salivary fistula. This study challenges this belief and looks into various factors that...

Hyoid bone interposition graft in treatment of laryngotracheal stenosis

Laryngotracheal stenosis remains a challenging condition to manage, with treatment options plagued by either high rates of recurrence or excessive morbidity. The authors describe two cases of adult laryngotracheal stenosis treated by a hyoid interposition composite graft. A two-step procedure...

Dutch pharyngeal pouch surgery experience

A decade’s experience of pharyngeal pouch surgery was reported in this paper from Rotterdam. A total of 94 patients were analysed. The majority (80%) underwent an endoscopic approach, either with stapling or CO2 laser-assisted. Interestingly, 13 of 75 (14%) procedures...

Reduce medical errors by improving communication: supporting vulnerable people

This article starts by emphasising that communication failures are a fairly common cause of medical errors. They highlight that people with dysarthria can experience significant communication difficulties and are at particular risk of this type of breakdown in care. People...

Airway intervention for epiglottitis

This Japanese study was a retrospective review of 83 patients admitted with epiglottitis over a 9.5-year period. The authors found that the factors that were significantly more likely to be present in patients who received airway intervention were: odynophagia; drooling;...

Pharyngocutaneous fistula after total laryngectomy

Pharyngocutaneous fistula (PCF) after total laryngectomy is a serious complication post-surgery, and can lead to prolonged hospitalisation, adding delays in postoperative chemoradiotherapy. This Turkish retrospective study looked at 166 patients who underwent total laryngectomy for laryngeal cancer, although it is...

Can junior doctors provide immediate help in airway and other ENT emergencies?

In the present trends for centralisation of ENT emergency services, availability of immediate middle grade or senior help in acute ENT emergencies does not always exist on site and hence the role of junior doctors in handling this is enhanced...

Surgery for hypopharyngeal obstruction causing OSA

Surgical treatments for OSA are evolving with improved diagnostic accuracy of the level(s) involved. Where the collapsing segment lies below the soft palate, a variety of surgical techniques to correct the affected segment(s) are emerging. This article concentrates on one...

Deep neck infections

This study from Shanghai is a retrospective review of 142 patients presenting to an ENT hospital with deep neck infections (DNIs). The findings of the study are comparable to many of the previous studies, however the authors found tonsillitis and...