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Long-term curative effects of microvascular decompression for hemifacial spasm

This article describes results of a multicentre prospective trial performed to evaluate long- and short-term outcomes and complications of patients who underwent microvascular decompression (MVD) for hemifacial spasm (HFS). The surgeries were performed by surgeons with more than 15 years...

Bell’s palsy outcomes

Bell’s palsy is a common, idiopathic, unilateral facial paresis or paralysis of sudden onset. This retrospective study reviewed the records of 193 patients diagnosed with Bell’s palsy. The patient’s clinical data, House-Brackman (h-B) grade, and data from five electrophysiological tests...

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...

What are the non-inflammatory causes of a conductive loss?

This retrospective study looked at patients with an intact tympanic membrane with non-inflammatory causes – i.e. otitis media and cholesteotoma. They document their findings based on exploratory tympanotomy. They operated depending on the findings with either a stapedectomy or a...

Robot controlled mastoid surgery!

This is a fascinating piece of work by a Korean team developing a human-robot collaborative control. Their model uses image guidance surgery to locate the drill tip’s position. Important structures can be highlighted – in this case the facial nerve....

Risk factors for post laryngectomy fistula

This is a meta-analysis looking at the postoperative pharyngocutaneous fistula rates following total laryngectomy. The authors ended up with 34 studies with about 2500 patients. The most striking finding was that preoperative radiotherapy was a significant risk factor as well...

Should all patients with BPPV have an MRI?

This paper describes an interesting series of 500 patients over a 10-year period with posterior canal BPPV, who had been investigated with MRI. The female to male ratio was 1.6:1 with a mean age of 56. There was a right...

Merocel vs Cutanplast Anal packing

This study compared two different nasal dressings after septoplasty. Seventy-six patients acted as their own controls by having one nostril packed with Merocel and one nostril somewhat improbably with Cutanplast Anal (gelatin sponge). It seems that the gelatin sponge was...

What’s the risk of regrowth with partial (intracapsular) tonsillectomy

Partial (intracapsular) tonsillectomy is enjoying somewhat of a revival offering the potential for less postoperative pain and bleeding whilst relieving the obstructive element. The authors look at 303 patients, 82 of whom had partial tonsillectomy using coblation. They measured pre...

A new septoplasty technique

This article describes a novel septoplasty technique to correct a cartilaginous deflection. Although it took a while to understand it as the operative photographs were not very helpful it is an interesting concept. The author excises an inferior strip and...