Journal Reviews
CT-scan instead of rigid bronchoscopy in paediatric foreign body aspiration?
Many centres would still use rigid bronchoscopy as the gold standard for possible foreign body aspiration (FBA) in children. Evidence is growing that CT scanning in these situations is a reliable alternative, especially as rigid bronchoscopy (RB) still carries a...
Close monitoring of patients for delayed hyponatremia post-transsphenoidal surgery
he incidence of delayed hyponatremia is 16-28% and usually accounts for unplanned readmission of the patient within 30 days after transsphenoidal surgery. One of the surrogate measures of quality of care adopted by the government and regulatory agencies is 30-day...
Intraoperative MRI use during pituitary tumour resection
This article provides an overview of intraoperative MRI (iMRI) use in transphenoidal surgery (TSS) for pituitary tumours. Traditionally imaging of the surgical field during surgery involves intraoperative fluoroscopic imaging or neuronavigation which help to avoid injury to critical structures but...
Advances in surgical innovation for head and neck cancer
This article reviews current advances in surgical treatment of head and neck cancers such as sentinel node biopsy, stereolithic modelling, transoral robotic surgery and intra-operative imaging of tumour margins. Sentinel node biopsy has been found to be especially useful for...
What is the evidence for contralateral tonsillectomy in TORS for known unilateral tonsil malignancy?
The concept of field changes by carcinogens within the upper aerodigestive tract is well established with reported rates of synchronous tumours of 4% and second primaries of 36%. The tonsil in particular has the highest rate of synchronous tumours, postulated...
The role of imaging in differentiating rare temporal bone neoplasms
This paper provides a useful tool to assist in determining the diagnosis of benign neoplasms of the temporal bone using readily available imaging modalities. Specifically, this group have looked at chondrosarcoma, an expansile hypermetabolic mass lesion usually found in the...
Same, same: similarities in conversation between people with dementia and aphasia and their loved ones
This article proposes that studying the commonalities between the effect of dementia and aphasia (post stroke language impairment) on communication could result in greater sharing of clinically relevant interventions. To date the separate study has resulted in significant separation of...
Approach to the orbital floor: which is better?
During skeletal surgery sufficient exposure is key – often a direct approach through the overlying tissues is the easiest route. In the face, however, as the scar would be readily visible, approaches are designed to hide this. Surgical access to...
Mindfulness meditation versus relaxation therapy for tinnitus
Tinnitus, defined by McFadden as “a conscious experience of sound that originates in the head of its owner, without an external acoustic source”, has a high prevalence and variable psychological impact. It results from maladaptation of the brain to a...
Prioritisation of surgery for pituitary tumours
This study is based on the findings of internationally renowned skull base surgeons who convened to recommend this stratification scheme. The study authors report that incidental diagnosis of pituitary tumours during routine imaging as well as early identification of visual...
Management of stage IV pharyngolaryngeal lesions
This is a retrospective study of 63 patients presenting with stage four laryngeal and/or hypopharyngeal squamous cell carcinoma. The aim was to define the factors influencing the oncological and functional outcomes of the patients. All patients had T4 lesions with...
To monitor the nerves or not?
Whilst intraoperative nerve monitoring has become the standard of care for mastoid and parotid surgery, its benefit in thyroid surgery remains unclear. In the UK NICE was agnostic on the subject in 2008, stating that it was potentially helpful and...
