You searched for "tongue"

137 results found

Hypoglossal nerve stimulation for OSA

Hypoglossal nerve stimulation has been lauded as the great new surgical treatment panacea for obstructive sleep apnoea (OSA). This meta-analysis includes 12 studies with a total of 350 patients, including the five-year follow-up data from the STAR trial which was...

Foretelling: post-stroke recovery of dysphagia is predicted by cognition

Around two thirds of people in the acute phase of stroke recovery will experience dysphagia. Up to six months following a stroke this may be present in 13-18% of cases. The degree of cognitive impairment seems to be associated with...

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...

Does the appearance, texture, and flavour of food affect how we swallow?

Texture modification and the use of thickened fluids are well-known strategies used to facilitate swallowing in people with dysphagia. However, some controversy exists around thickeners and their possible negative impact on hydration and medication absorption. This paper considers other properties...

The lateral neck cystic mass – diagnostic dilemma. Can HPV status help?

Solitary cystic masses in the lateral neck can present a significant diagnostic dilemma as they can be metastases from tumours of the oro or nasopharynx. This retrospective paper detailed all patients presenting to a university hospital in Germany, from September...

Risk of second primary cancer among patients with head and neck cancers

Patients with head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC) have an elevated risk of developing a second primary malignant neoplasm (SPMN). These are of increasing concern because the number of survivors of HNSCC has been growing owing to early detection...

Advances in surgical innovation for head and neck cancer

This article reviews current advances in surgical treatment of head and neck cancers such as sentinel node biopsy, stereolithic modelling, transoral robotic surgery and intra-operative imaging of tumour margins. Sentinel node biopsy has been found to be especially useful for...

The sleep nasendoscopy learning curve

There seems to be no accepted way of surgically assessing patients with sleep disordered breathing (SDB). Because of this, clinicians fall roughly into three camps: those who just use one operation for all patients, those who have given up surgery...

5-cm incision for neck dissection and free flap reconstruction

Patients with oral cavity squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) will commonly require neck dissection as it is associated with a higher rate of overall and disease free survival. Free flap reconstruction of the defect following surgical resection is considered the gold...

How do you solve a problem like Dysphagia?

When a patient is referred to a speech and language therapist for the management of swallowing difficulties, multiple options are available to address these issues. The choice is based on a detailed assessment of the patient’s swallowing physiology and function....

Effectiveness of oral pressure therapy in obstructive sleep apnoea: a systematic analysis

Oral pressure therapy (OPT) is a relatively new form of therapy for obstructive sleep apnoea (OSA). Paradoxically it seems to work even though it creates a vacuum in the oral cavity as opposed to the gold standard of continuous positive...

Identifying CN IX and X using endotracheal tube electrodes

This clinical study describes the possible usefulness of endotracheal tube electrodes in monitoring vocal cord function during cerebellopontine angle surgery in 20 patients. Lower cranial nerves, especially IX and X are at risk of injury during skull base surgery although...