Untreated reflux can cause inflammation, scarring, narrowing and precancerous changes in the oesophagus and larynx, and may increase the risk of asthma and sleep apnoea.
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...
Recurrent facial palsy is relatively rare, and its clinical features are not well known. The authors set out to investigate this further by undertaking a retrospective study of patients with recurrent facial palsy over a 14-year period. Only Bell’s palsy...
This article is interesting for those of us who see children regularly in secondary care but rarely see them with chronic rhinosinusitis. The authors remind the reader of the EPOS guidelines for diagnosis of CRS in children: two or more...
There is an increasing amount of evidence to suggest that chronic oesophageal inflammation and motility disorders play a more significant role in oesophageal food impaction (EFI) in children compared to structural defects. The authors conducted a retrospective study of children...
Early identification of dysphagia in inpatients on acute stroke wards has been recommended as best practice guidelines in many countries. However, several institutions fail to use formal dysphagia screening protocols and rely on informal detection by nurses and doctors. This...
This paper discusses the management options of advanced otosclerosis. There are several definitions for advanced otosclerosis in the literature but, more recently, the diagnosis of advanced otoscletosis has been reserved for patients who have less than 30% aided speech discrimination...
Whilst vestibular dysfunction is a known outcome of cochlear implant surgery, do we know the risk factors associated with this, particularly in children? In this article a team from University of Tokyo discuss their findings. Cochlear implantation (CI) is an...
The ideal time to start postoperative radiation therapy (PORT) in head and neck cancer patients has been an issue of debate. In the USA, the National Comprehensive Cancer Network (NCCN) recommends initiating radiotherapy within six weeks from surgery. The six-week...
Laryngopharyngeal reflux (LPR) is often considered to be a contributory factor to the development of a spectrum of laryngeal abnormalities including vocal cord leukoplakia and dysplasia. This is especially the case when traditional risk factors, such as tobacco smoking, are...
This paper reviews the diagnosis and management of infantile haemagiomas (IH) affecting the airway. Approximately half of infants with this condition would also have cutaneous haemagiomas which are usually in the beard distribution. IH could affect any parts of the...
Neck dissection in addition to surgery of the primary site is commonly recommended in head and neck cancer treatment. However, there has been no consensus on the number of nodes that need to be removed to constitute a sufficient neck...