Chronic rhinosinusitis management: back to the future?

Immunology is a dim and distant medical school memory to many ENT surgeons, but the increasingly complex immunology of chronic rhinosinusitis is fascinating (honestly!). Medical management options in CRS no longer just involves saline and steroids, and we need to...

Staphylococcus aureus as a cause of refractory chronic rhinosinusitis

Staphylococcus aureus has long been linked to chronic rhinosinusitis, particularly recalcitrant cases. In this article, Alkis Psaltis describes how newer techniques have shown higher rates of S. aureus infection than were previously thought, and explains how the bacteria are able...

The role of macrolide antibiotics in chronic rhinosinusitis

The use of long-term antibiotics in the treatment of chronic rhinosinusitis is a contentious issue, not only because of the increasing problem with antibiotic resistance but also because of the potential cardiac risks, including sudden death. In this article, Anders...

Timing of surgery in chronic rhinosinusitis: does it matter?

While many patients with chronic rhinosinusitis respond to medical treatment, some do not. The next step for these patients is surgery, but how soon should this be offered? Sooner rather than later seems to be the answer, as Claire Hopkins...

The common frontal sinusotomy (Lothrop) and chronic rhinosinusitis

As our understanding of the pathophysiology of CRS evolves, so do our treatment strategies. It is accepted that in many cases, the main role of surgery is to allow better penetration of topical therapies to the sinus cavities. What, then,...

Recalcitrant chronic rhinosinusitis: What to do next?

Whilst the majority of patients with chronic rhinosinusitis (CRS) will significantly improve with treatment, we are sometimes left with a ‘hard-core’ of nasal cripples who fail to improve despite our best efforts. How can we deal with these patients? Valerie...

Facial pain: the differential diagnosis in an ENT clinic

The patient presenting with facial pain can be a heartsink. Fear not – Bhaskar Ram and Sangeeta Maini are here with a succinct overview of the common non-sinogenic causes of facial pain and headache, and how to manage them. Facial...

General overview of endoscopic ear surgery: advantages and principles

The philosophy of endoscopic ear surgery presents surgeons with a tricky concept – does the magnificent view make up for the fact I need to operate with one hand? In this article, Jane Lea discusses the advantages of operating transcanal...

Staying safe during endoscopic ear surgery

There is growing interest in using rigid endoscopes rather than traditional operative microscopes to perform transcanal middle ear surgery. Rigid endoscopy provides a high resolution, wide-angle view of the tympanic cavity through minimally invasive surgical portals. In this article, Elliott...

Video otology tutorials: how EES changes the game

High definition endoscopic ear surgery (EES) redefines traditional middle ear anatomical perspectives. The surgeon can observe in situ anatomical relationships with angled objectives in a way that the traditional microscopic view, with step-wise removal of structures is unable to achieve....

Endoscopic ear surgery in children

The benefits of endoscopes in otologic surgery, which have become increasingly widely appreciated in recent years, are very well suited to the management of paediatric middle ear disease. Although one might imagine that the smaller ear canal of a child...

TWJ Fellowship – Toronto 2015: Endoscopic Ear Surgery

The Thomas Wickham Jones (TWJ) Foundation is a charitable trust with the aim of helping patients with deafness overcome their disability. Striving to achieve this goal they provide educational grants to otolaryngologists and other related audiological professionals working within the...