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Righting the paralysed lip

Many surgical procedures that otolaryngologists perform put the facial nerve at risk of injury, a complication that the surgeon and patient fear alike. Unfortunately, injuries to the nerve can and do happen despite adequate precautions, and facial paralysis may be...

Coblation versus microdebrider submucosal inferior turbinoplasty

This prospective randomised study from Riyadh compares submucosal coblation and submucosal microdebrider inferior turbinate reduction. Seventy patients were recruited who had failed medical treatment and were undergoing isolated inferior turbinate surgery. Outcome measures included the Friedman score and VAS for...

Rib grafts for mandibular reconstruction

Reconstruction of the mandible following ablation requires good bone stock to allow optimal function and the placement of dental implants. In the developed world, vascularised bony flaps are accepted as the gold standard but these may not be widely available...

Extracapsular dissection versus parotidectomy

This is a literature review of 16 papers using the PRISMA protocol. In comparing the two techniques, not surprisingly, they found that extracapsular dissection was associated with a reduced incidence of facial nerve paralysis and Frey’s syndrome and a shorter...

To pack or not to pack!

Ear packing is thought to support grafts, control bleeding and facilitate healing. However, it is not without complications such as fibrosis and infection. The authors aimed at investigating the effect of middle ear packing on graft success rate in myringoplasty...