Search

Facial Surgery: Plastic and Reconstructive

Following Professor Cheney’s first popular publication in 1995 on flaps and reconstruction and subsequent second edition, he has now co-edited with Tessa Hadlock a comprehensive two-volume production. They have put together an extensive range of plastic and reconstructive surgery in...

Olfactory and gustatory recovery in coronavirus patients after six months

It remains unclear for how long olfactory and gustatory losses persevere in patients with COVID-19. This is a prospective study of 300 patients who lost taste and smell within seven days of contracting COVID-19. The patients were objectively assessed with...

Are there any benefits of postoperative antibiotics after endoscopic transsphenoidal surgery for pituitary tumours?

This prospective randomised double-blind multicentre study evaluated whether postoperative antibiotics resulted in improvement in sinonasal quality of life (QoL) compared to placebo in patients undergoing endoscopic endonasal transsphenoidal pituitary surgery. A total of 461 patients were screened for the study...

Should all patients with BPPV have an MRI?

This paper describes an interesting series of 500 patients over a 10-year period with posterior canal BPPV, who had been investigated with MRI. The female to male ratio was 1.6:1 with a mean age of 56. There was a right...

One anastomosis or two

This is a cumulative meta-analysis from Hong Kong reviewing 27 articles and a total of 7,389 flaps. The authors, at the outset, acknowledge that the number of anastomoses is not the only factor of venous compromise and flap failure. Nonetheless...

Elevated prevalence of late-onset dysphagia among head and neck cancer survivors and identifying risk factors

Dysphagia is one of the most common problems affecting head and neck cancer (HNC) survivors. There are few studies investigating late-onset dysphagia post-treatment. The authors set out to investigate the prevalence of dysphagia-related diagnoses and procedures five years’ post-treatment, changes...

Cochlear implant electrode insertion technique

Atraumatic cochlear implant insertion techniques (so-called ‘soft surgery’) are now standard practice in most centres for all cases (no longer just for attempted hearing preservation cases). This has led to several studies examining cochlear trauma and electrode insertion force. In...

Medical information required with requests for CT scans of the temporal bones; a two cycle audit

It is a common experience that radiology reports on the CT scans of the temporal bones do not always reach a diagnosis. Various studies have produced differing results in that detailed information may not be necessary to help reach a...

Unravelling the Meniere’s vs. migraine conundrum – what does the mastoid contribute?

This is an interesting observational study that attempts to classify subtypes of Meniere’s disease (MD) in relation to the coexistence of migraine. It is well known that the two conditions share common characteristics, making diagnosis and treatment challenging at times....

The degree of barbecue rotation matters in horizontal canal BPPV

Treatment of horizontal canal BPPV (Hc-BPPV) is not without controversy due to the several repositioning manoeuvres advocated for its treatment. Among the many, barbecue rotation (Br) is perhaps the most commonly used for canalithiasis of Hc-BPPV. Should the rotation be...

Surgical management of permanent facial paralysis

This article explores the management of flaccid facial palsy focusing on weakness less than one to two years’ duration. As a general rule, primary nerve repair produces the best outcome and should be performed where possible. For long-standing paralysis of...