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The ear, nose and throat anaesthesia practice of Dr John Snow (1813-58)

News of the first successful public demonstration of general anaesthesia in Boston, Massachusetts in October 1846 reached Britain in mid-December of that year. James Robinson, a London dentist, gave the first anaesthetic in the United Kingdom when, on 19 December,...

The pioneers of endoscopy and the sword swallowers

Adolf Kussmaul drew inspiration from an unlikely source to further the development of endoscopy… The early pioneers of airway endoscopy and oesophagoscopy were bedevilled by two major and seemingly insurmountable problems. One was the paucity of light sources, with reliance...

Upper airway endoscopy: achieving a balanced service whilst minimising the conflict of sustainability

Nasal endoscopes present a unique challenge in balancing sustainability and practicality. Both disposable and reusable scopes may have distinct roles in modern practice. Flexible endoscopy of the upper aerodigestive tract is an essential technique that facilitates detailed assessment of the...

Audiological monitoring in ototoxicity - Are we doing enough?

In this article Ghada Al-Malky explores the dichotomy of life-saving, yet hearing loss-causing medication, and questions whether the hearing healthcare community is doing enough to prevent preventable hearing loss. Ototoxicity is the damage to hearing and / or balance functions...

Hearing rehabilitation after vestibular schwannoma surgery

Hearing rehabilitation is a key focus of the management of patients with vestibular schwannoma. But how do we rehabilitate hearing when the cochlear nerve has been damaged by tumour, irradiation, or resective surgery? Mathieu Trudel, Scott Rutherford and Simon Lloyd...

Thyroid nodules – time for a rational imaging approach

“The more you know, the harder it is to take decisive action. Once you become informed, you start seeing complexities and shades of gray. You realize that nothing is as clear as it first appears. Ultimately, knowledge is paralyzing.” Calvin,...

An update on laryngeal reinnervation

Laryngeal paralysis remains very difficult to treat, but reinnervation offers many attractions. Laryngeal paralysis presents a unique and varied problem that requires a patient centred approach and a range of treatment options depending on laryngeal and patient factors. There is...

The ear-brain connection in cochlear implant users: learning to listen again

While the cochlear implant (CI) has been a tremendous success in restoring hearing to deaf individuals, the implantation outcome still varies across CI users [1]. Some demographic factors, such as duration of deafness, and peripheral factors, such as electrode placement,...

William Hunter’s work on the anatomy of the human ear

The Hunterian Society offers an annual award for an essay and presentation on a subject of relevance to John or William Hunter, or medicine in the 18th Century. This article is based on Emma Stapleton’s 2014 winning essay, which was...

What’s new in electrophysiology?

Steve Bell is a lecturer at the University of Southampton and a member of the British Society of Audiology’s (BSA) Special Interest Group in Electrophysiology. Given the current surge in interest in electrophysiology, both in rehabilitation and diagnostic arenas, Steve...