Journal Reviews
Platelet-rich plasma-cartilage tympanoplasty
This systematic review and meta-analysis of five studies (n=234 patients) reports the effectiveness of type I tympanoplasty with cartilage and platelet-rich plasma (PRP) compared with type I cartilage tympanoplasty alone for closure of dry tympanic membrane perforations. This is an...
Environmental sounds matter too
Individuals with auditory neuropathy spectrum disorder (ANSD) frequently report major listening difficulties despite hearing thresholds that may not fully explain their functional impairment. Most audiological assessment batteries focus heavily on speech perception, yet this paper argues that environmental sound perception...
Quicker than reading the BNF
It has long struck me that it might be helpful to search medication-induced side effects by symptom, rather than having to look up each individual drug. For many years, there have also been regularly cited categories of medications to be...
Lip sensory disturbance in osteotomy patients
Neurosensory disturbance resulting from inferior alveolar nerve injury during a sagittal split osteotomy (BSSO) is a well-recognised complication. This paper from Türkiye looked at 20 patients with neurosensory disturbance >12 months after a bimaxillary osteotomy including a BSSO surgery and...
Nodal metastasis from thin tongue tumours
This is a retrospective study over the course of 7 years, in which 240 patients were assessed. All had excision of a T1/T2 tongue primary tumour with an elective neck dissection of level I–IV with or without reconstruction. Radiotherapy was...
Emergent surgical airway in head and neck conditions
This systematic review and meta-analysis looked at 1011 surgical airways in 14 studies. Of these airways, 50 were cricothyroidotomies. The mean complication rate was 16.8% with an airway-related mortality rate of 0.2%. They noted that the odds of complication significantly...
Speech and language therapists have the skills to provide all practisable supports in compliance with Mental Capacity Act guidance
Deciding where to live can be complex. However, people with communication difficulties can find this even more difficult, and they are often completed excluded from the process. In the past, people with complex communication difficulties may have been placed in...
Is tonsillectomy performed any better by trained surgeons compared with trainees?
Tonsillectomy is one of the most common operations performed in otolaryngology. Training in this procedure therefore needs to begin early in the formative years, while also complying with patient safety and cost-effectiveness requirements. This randomised prospective study compares tonsillectomy with...
Association of eustachian tube dysfunction in children undergoing adenotonsillectomy for sleep-disordered breathing
The need for this study arises from the fact that after undergoing adenotonsillectomy, some children continue to suffer from symptoms of sleep-disordered breathing (SDB) which overlap with symptoms of eustachian tube dysfunction (ETD), such as cognitive and behavioural impairment, resulting...
Redefining alar retraction: can hyaluronic acid replace the scalpel?
Alar retraction is a common challenging nasal deformity and requires precise structural correction to achieve both functional and aesthetic harmony. Traditionally correction of alar retraction has relied on open rhinoplasty with various techniques including cartilage grafting, suturing techniques and advancement...
Ménière’s disease in today’s social media sphere
Social media is increasingly becoming the source of medical information for many. The authors analysed 1108 posts on Ménière’s disease on Facebook, Instagram and TikTok, to determine the accuracy of content, authorship, depiction of Ménière’s disease and types of media...
Do in-office steroid injections help for idiopathic subglottic stenosis?
Idiopathic subglottic stenosis (iSGS) is a narrowing of the trachea of unknown cause, usually affecting middle-aged Caucasian women. In-office intralesional steroid injection (SILSI) is a recent advance in minimally invasive treatment aiming to reduce inflammation and scarring. The authors of...
