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Does personality influence adherence to preventative exercises in people diagnosed with head and neck cancer?

Cancer prehabilitation is increasingly becoming an integral part of cancer care. Patients are therefore asked to engage in health behaviours and exercises before their cancer treatment starts. This is proposed to mitigate side effects and problems that they may not...

Botulinum toxin injection for bilateral recurrent laryngeal nerve paralysis

All traditional surgical treatments for bilateral recurrent laryngeal nerve (RLN) paralysis are essentially a balance between maximising airway patency and ensuring adequate phonation / airway protection. This paper highlights the potential role of botulinum toxin (Botox) injection into the cricothyroid...

Swallowing assessments of the future: the role of artificial intelligence

The future’s bright, the future’s Orange AI… If you Google ‘how much is AI worth?’, the AI overview tells you “The global artificial intelligence (AI) market size is estimated at approximately $244 billion to $391 billion in 2025 and is...

Ballenger’s Otorhinolaryngology: Head and Neck Surgery, 18th Edition

One hundred and eight years after its first edition, the two-volume eighteenth edition of Ballenger’s Otorhinolaryngology is published in1300 pages set out in six sections, 114 chapters ably edited by Ashley Wackym and James Snow. Volume one very comprehensively covers...

Are there benefits of prophylactic swallowing exercises for patients with head and neck cancer?

This randomised controlled trial aimed to establish the impact of prophylactic swallowing exercises in patients undergoing chemoradiation therapy for head and neck cancer. The primary outcome was the functional oral intake scale (FOIS), although secondary measures for feeding tube use,...

Marshmallows for swallowing assessments!

The complaint of ‘food sticking in my throat’ is one many of us will have heard several times in clinical practice. The authors of this study report the prevalence of this symptom to be between 5-8% in the general population...

Identifying CN IX and X using endotracheal tube electrodes

This clinical study describes the possible usefulness of endotracheal tube electrodes in monitoring vocal cord function during cerebellopontine angle surgery in 20 patients. Lower cranial nerves, especially IX and X are at risk of injury during skull base surgery although...

The right kit matters… How important is video recording in FEES?

As a portable alternative to videofluoroscopy, fibreoptic endoscopic evaluation of swallowing (FEES) is often carried out at the patient’s bedside. The authors of this paper have chosen to examine the reliability of the penetration-aspiration ratings (Rosenbek scale) of FEES examinations...

Botulinum toxin and drooling – how much, how often and where?

This was an incredibly useful article covering all aspects of the use of botulinum toxin as a treatment modality in sialorrhoea. The article starts by outlining why treating sialorrhoea is important and describes the non-pharmacological and pharmacological options, highlighting that...

Bothersome ‘burping’ – speech therapy may help

Most people experience belching as a normal phenomenon, often after eating or drinking carbonated drinks in particular. However, separate to this normal physiological phenomenon, some people experience belches that can occur much more frequently (up to 20 times a minute)...

Surgical management of permanent facial paralysis

This article explores the management of flaccid facial palsy focusing on weakness less than one to two years’ duration. As a general rule, primary nerve repair produces the best outcome and should be performed where possible. For long-standing paralysis of...