Journal Reviews
COVID-19 tracheostomies
This is a review of tracheostomies completed by an OMFS Unit in London from 10 March to 18 May 2020. A total of 176 COVID-19 patients were admitted to intensive care, 72 of which required tracheostomy due to prolonged respiratory...
TMJ arthrocentesis
This is a paper from Brazil where they attempted to clarify the volume required for an arthrocentesis to the temporomandibular joint. Nineteen cadavers had methylene blue injected into the upper joint space. Conventional arthrocentesis was then conducted with 300ml of...
PET-CT for malignant nasopharyngeal lesions
This retrospective Turkish review of 92 patients aimed to determine the ability of fluorine 18-fluorodeoxyglucose (FDG) maximum standardised uptake value (SUVmax) on positron emission tomography/computerised tomography (PET/CT) to differentiate benign processes and malignant nasopharyngeal lesions. The authors retrospectively reviewed the...
British Skull Base Society Clinical Consensus Document on Management of Head and Neck Paragangliomas (HNPGLs)
All forms of HNPGLs should be managed by a multidisciplinary team (MDT) of core members from skull base otolaryngology, head and neck surgery, clinical genetics, oncology, endocrinology, vascular surgery, radiology and pathology. Extended members include neurosurgery, endocrine surgery, nuclear medicine,...
Functional considerations in reconstruction after laryngectomy
With a plethora of different reconstructive options and techniques available after laryngectomy, it can be difficult to clearly see which give the lowest complication rates and best functional outcomes. This article aims to summarise the current evidence in swallowing and...
Predicting the need for salvage laryngectomy
The treatment of laryngeal cancer has seen a shift towards organ preservation strategies with non-surgical treatment offering equivalent survival outcomes. Nonetheless, salvage total laryngectomy (SLT) remains an important curative management option in cases of treatment failure or recurrence. The authors...
Brown classification of a maxillary defect and prognosis
This is a retrospective study from Peking over the 10-year period, 2000-2010, for 137 patients with maxillary squamous cell carcinoma assessed. The overall survival rate was comparable with other studies at 64.8%. The most common Brown maxillary defect was 2b...
Fibula free flap virtual or freehand planning and the efficiency of surgery
This is a systematic review from surgeons in Italy and Florida where, from an initial 799 potentially relevant articles, only six could be included. Efficiency was assessed by the mean ischemia time which, for the virtual group, was 73.8 minutes,...
Safety recommendations for ENT surgeons during the COVID-19 pandemic
Physicians and other healthcare workers who perform and participate in examinations and procedures within the head and neck region and airway are at particularly high risk of exposure and infection from aerosol and droplet contamination. Authors have developed recommendations to...
Thyroidectomy and hypnosis
This is a retrospective study comparing thyroidectomy under conventional general anaesthesia and surgery under hypnosis. Patients are interviewed and evaluated before the surgery and the process explained. During the surgery, they are induced into a hypnotic trance in a controlled...
Enhanced recovery following surgery for head and neck cancer – the current evidence
Enhanced recovery after surgery (ERAS) programmes are now well established in many surgical specialities as a means of reducing postoperative complications and length of stay in hospital. Whilst many head and neck teams have interventions used to aid postoperative recovery,...
COVID-19 and medical practice
The pandemic has deeply affected all types of medical and surgical practice and even publications. In this issue, the lead article was on the French consensus on ENT practice during the pandemic. In ENT practice, both patients and health workers...
