Journal Reviews
Lateral wall or perimodular? Perimodular!
In cochlear implant (CI) surgery, both lateral wall (LW) and perimodular (PM) electrodes have their advantages and disadvantages. The PM electrode was shown to have superior hearing outcomes. The disadvantages of the PM electrode, except for tip fold-over, were reduced...
The keystone island perforator flap – expanding the toolbox for aesthetic nasal reconstruction
The complexity of nasal reconstruction lies in its dual objective: restoring structural integrity while preserving subtle contours and symmetry that define facial aesthetics. This retrospective cohort study from a single centre in the United States evaluated the effectiveness of the...
Understanding cough
The prevalence of chronic cough in the adult population is 10–12%. Chronic cough is common and costly, and represents a substantial clinical and economic burden. Duration-based classification guides evaluation. Distinguishing acute (<3 weeks), subacute (3–8 weeks), and chronic (>8 weeks)...
Optimal timing of radiological follow-up in detection of cholesteatoma recurrence
This is a meta-analysis assessing the optimal timing of postoperative magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) for surveillance in detecting cholesteatoma recurrence. A systematic literature review of searches of articles between 2013 and 2024 in PubMed, Embase and Cochrane were conducted according...
Why are we here?
This small study, based on 10 semi-structured interviews, clearly highlights the importance of the audiologist’s role at a pivotal stage of educational and social transition. The interviews explored themes including deaf identity and connections, self-acceptance, preparation for further education and...
Brain tumours don’t do what they’re told to – linguistic sequalae of low-grade brain tumours
Brain tumours typically grow slowly, resulting in the gradual progression of symptoms including, in some instances, tumour-related language difficulties. Traditionally, brain tumours were thought to result in language symptoms correlating with traditional lesion-symptom mapping, and research to date has mainly...
To question or not to question
Misophonia is a complex condition in which individuals experience a strong negative emotional response to specific sounds, such as chewing, breathing, swallowing or foot tapping. These reactions are not primarily determined by the volume of the sound. Although relatively few...
Transoral coblation surgery – a viable option for early laryngeal cancers involving the anterior commissure?
Transoral laser microsurgery is widely considered to represent the ideal treatment modality for early (T1a) laryngeal cancers. With disease involving the anterior commissure however, radiotherapy is often advocated on account of perceived superior voice and airway outcomes, plus potential difficulty...
How quality improvement helped to create local guidelines for good tracheostomy care
Significant morbidity and mortality is associated with tracheostomy insertion. A complex, multistep process exists to help patients towards decannulation. This process is often complicated by patient comorbidities, discontinuity of care and communication as patients move through hospital, and variable experience...
Predicting aspiration pneumonia in adults
Aspiration occurs when oropharyngeal or gastric contents are inhaled into the larynx and lower respiratory tract. When the aspirated material is colonised by pathogenic microorganisms, this may result in aspiration pneumonia. In contrast, aspiration of sterile gastric contents may lead...
For a better evaluation of neonatal hearing loss
The authors conducted a retrospective observational study on 112 neonates tested with auditory brainstem response (ABR) and auditory steady-state response (ASSR). The main aim was to compare hearing thresholds obtained by ASSR, ABR and behavioural audiometry at different frequencies and...
Large septal perforation repair
Repair of large nasal septal perforations (NSP) can be challenging due to limited availability of surrounding nasal tissue, mucosal tension and diminished vascularity. The authors of this manuscript included 38 studies involving 408 patients with large NSP, with aetiologies ranging...
