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Literature review of experience with the BAHA Attract implant

The authors undertook a literature review for reports on patients who underwent BAHA Attract implantation. Of the 497 PubMed articles, 10 studies met their inclusion criteria. All the studies published were observational studies. There were no randomised control trials. The...

Lateral wall augmentation for patulous eustachian tube

The problem more commonly attributed to the eustachian tube is lack of its patency rather than it being unduly patulous. This lesser recognised condition is due to loss of peritubal fat volume resulting in concavity of the lateral wall and...

Role of the insula and orbitofrontal cortex in tinnitus related distress

It is estimated that 5% of the population suffer from chronic tinnitus with 17% of those suffering emotional distress. The authors attempted to study the neural correlates of tinnitus-related distress using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) during an Emotional Stroop...

A review of endoscopic sinus surgery outcomes

This review discusses the outcome measures that may be considered in the assessment of patients with chronic rhinosinusitis (CRS) as well as the outcomes of endoscopic sinus surgery (ESS) published so far. The authors also discuss the role of peri-operative...

Titanium bobbins are prone to water penetration

There is limited evidence that swimming with grommets increases ear infections and most clinicians advise swimming with ventilation tubes is acceptable. Concerns may persist especially among parents. This paper evaluates the amount of different liquids (soapy water, sea water, chlorinated...

Awareness of alternative techniques in cochlear implantation

The use of alternative techniques for cochlear implantation is indicated in unusual cases where the standard procedure would not be suitable. The authors of this study highlight the various reasons as to why an alternative technique might be sought, and...

Preserving hearing in NF2 patients

Neurofibromatosis type 2 (NF2) is known to result in bilateral hearing loss, even when there is no significant tumour growth. The cause is postulated to be multifactorial: stretching and compression of the cochlear nerve by the tumour, impairment of labyrinthine...

Identifying clinically useful salivary substitutes

This in vitro study analysed the efficacy of salivary substitutes used in the treatment of xerostomia following head neck irradiation. The researchers applied the products under evaluation onto a synthetic surface and onto cellular gingival models. The products were then...

Day care stapes surgery

This paper reports on a proposed unblinded, randomised controlled trial in which the hearing outcomes after inpatient stapes surgery will be compared with those after day case stapes surgery. The study is currently in the recruitment stage and plans to...

Evidence based outcomes for canal wall up, canal wall down and subsequent canal wall reconstruction for primary cholesteatoma

There has been a long standing controversy over whether to treat primary cholesteatoma with open or closed technique. The general consensus is that limited disease can be treated with closed technique whereas the canal wall down approach helps reduce recidivism...

Robot controlled mastoid surgery!

This is a fascinating piece of work by a Korean team developing a human-robot collaborative control. Their model uses image guidance surgery to locate the drill tip’s position. Important structures can be highlighted – in this case the facial nerve....