Journal Reviews
Hilotherapy for facial surgery patients?
Hilotherapy involves administering regulated cold compression through a facemask. The principle of this treatment involves cyotherapy as a traditional treatment for reducing inflammation, pain and swelling following trauma. It is believed that using hilotherapy (Hilotherm®), which uses a mask to...
Do certain chronic medications increase dysphagia in older people?
Oropharyngeal dysphagia is known to affect a high number of older people in the community, in care homes and in acute geriatric admissions to hospital. The authors of this study have recognised that many older people take drugs for chronic...
Improving the temporal contour in reconstruction
A feature of the temporalis flap is the sunken contour left behind. This group from Japan present a variation for filling defects for which we would traditionally use a temporalis muscle containing. The laterally based peri-cranial flap they present uses...
Money saving using CAD-CAM in mandibular reconstruction
CAD-CAM (computer aided design and computer aided manufacturing) is an exciting field in the functional and accurate reconstruction of oral cavity defects. This is a prospective study from Italy based on data from 20 consecutive mandibular reconstructions from 2011 to...
Is it possible to fix condylar neck fractures with one plate?
Fractures of the condylar neck are fairly common and account for over 25% of all mandible fractures. Over the years a number of modalities have been used to fix these fractures. Direct reduction is complicated by the overlying proximity of...
The video head impulse test: an aid to the diagnosis of spinocerebellar ataxias
Spinocerebellar and Friedreich ataxias (SCA and FA) by their nature present in neuro-otology clinics. The diagnosis is ultimately genetic but the authors investigated the characteristics of the VOR using the video head impulse test (vHIT) in order to distinguish between...
Finding the elusive parathyroid glands
While reading in the literature about new advances in knowledge and surgical techniques, it is often easy to lose track of the longstanding knowledge that we all acquired during our training. This is why this article on the anatomy and...
Another use for Tisseel – plugging of the round window
After insertion of a cochlear implant electrode through the round window, there are several methods of sealing the perilymph leak and in my experience fascia (with varying amounts of attached muscle) seems to be most commonly used. Stephen O’Leary’s group...
Is bone cement a cost-effective solution?
This study looks at the functional results of 52 patients who underwent bone cement ossiculoplasty. Patients were divided into four groups based on ossicular disruption. Group 1 (30 patients) had lenticular erosion only. Group 2 (13 patients) had absent incus....
More is better
The authors reviewed 119 patients undergoing endoscopic sinus surgery for sinonasal polyposis. Of these, 45 patients were operated upon by a traditional functional technique preserving the middle turbinate and keeping its position. In addition, the second group underwent a partial...
Outcomes in endoscopic sinus surgery
This study assessed the effect of endoscopic sinus surgery with regard to olfactory function and nasal obstruction, in chronic rhinosinusitis (CRS) patients with, and without, nasal polyposis. One hundred and thirteen patients entered the study, and assessments were performed pre-...
Do tonsillotomies have a higher revision rate than tonsillectomies?
Tonsillotomies have gained popular acceptance in children with sleep-disordered breathing (SDB) in recent years. Short-term advantages that have been shown in the literature include lower haemorrhage rates, shorter operation times and less pain. Evidence for long-term effects are sparse due...
