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Nasal decongestants don’t improve Eustachian tube function

Prescribing nasal steroids and decongestants. It’s something most of us do routinely, in an effort to reduce chronic middle ear effusion in an adult by trying to improve eustachian tube (ET) patency. This study used clever devices (tube manometry and...

How to tackle the problem of ciprofloxacin-resistant ear infections?

The growing issue of ciprofloxacin-resistant ear organisms is certainly a pertinent one. The situation here in the UK, where ototoxic topical drops are frequently given initially in the presence of pus and a perforation, differs markedly from elsewhere where fluoroquinolones...

Graft material success for tympanoplasty

This retrospective Belgian study looked at the success rates of xenograft and human allograft materials as alternatives to more common autograft materials like fascia, fat or cartilage. A total of 71 consecutive patients who underwent type 1 tympanoplasty were included,...

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...

Does endoscopic tympanoplasty give better results than a conventional approach?

This is a retrospective review looking at two groups of patients who had undergone middle ear surgery for chronic otitis media (perforation, retraction pocket/cholesteatoma) either open or endoscopic. Four hundred and five patients underwent open ear surgery and 501 endoscopic,...

Should we do oesophagoscopy during panendoscopy?

Panendoscopy entails a complete evaluation of the upper aerodigestive tract, and consists of oral inspection, direct laryngoscopy, bronchoscopy, oesophagoscopy, or some combination of these procedures. Despite many advances in imaging over the years, a skilled surgeon’s eyes remain superior in...

Subannular T-tubes for adhesive otitis

This Italian study looked at the success rates of a novel method to manage adhesive otitis media (chronic otitis media with adhesion of the tympanic membrane to the promontory). The authors looked at 22 patients with unilateral chronic adhesive otitis...

A novel use for coblation in the nose

Having recently become a coblation convert for multiple applications in ENT (including tonsillectomy, inferior turbinate reduction and radiofrequency ablation of the tongue base), it was interesting to read about another novel use in the nose. This preliminary report evaluates the...

Management of the ear in cleft lip and palate

The management of patients with cleft lip and palate includes a focus on effective speech and language function. Poor eustachian tube function and middle ear dysfunction mean over 90% of children suffer from otitis media with effusion. This article provides...

The increasingly favourable outcomes from endoscopic endonasal approaches for the management of pituitary adenomas

Historically, pituitary tumours have been surgically managed with an open, transcranial approach. Although this approach still has its merits in large intracranial adenomas, technological advancement has allowed smaller tumours to be debulked via a transseptal microscopic technique. These days, the...