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Tongue twisters to evaluate speech disorders
This interesting study compared errors in tongue twisters produced by adult patients with dysarthria with those produced by age-matched healthy controls. Audio recordings of all patients while they were vocalising tongue twisters were studied. The authors marked one word prominently...
Risk factors in free flap failure
This is a retrospective analysis from China of 881 free flaps over nearly four years, 49 of which were ‘taken back’, 26 of which were lost, giving a 97% success rate. The commonest cause of flap failure was venous thrombosis....
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...
Is combined two wall decompression approach a better surgical outcome for Grave’s orbitopathy?
This retrospective study looked at the outcome of endoscopic medial wall combined with transcutaneous lateral orbital wall decompression in Graves’ orbitopathy. The following parameters were studied: reduction in proptosis; change in visual acuity and diplopia. A total of 36 orbits...
Graft material success for tympanoplasty
This retrospective Belgian study looked at the success rates of xenograft and human allograft materials as alternatives to more common autograft materials like fascia, fat or cartilage. A total of 71 consecutive patients who underwent type 1 tympanoplasty were included,...
Paediatric nasopharyngeal carcinoma
Between 11 and 18% of nasopharyngeal carcinomas (NPC) occur in the paediatric age group but there are no specific management guidelines for this age group. Tunisia is a region with an intermediate incidence of NPC, the authors studied 40 cases...
Multi-layered repair of lateral sphenoid CSF rhinorrhoea
This case series describes the author’s results with repairing lateral sphenoid encephalocoeles in seven patients. Alloderm inlay with abdominal fat onlay and nasoseptal flap onlay repair resulted in a 100% success rate with no recurrence of cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) rhinorrhoea,...
Post-thyroidectomy vocal cord palsy: are there long-term sequelae?
This is a well written paper utilising the Hospital Episode Statistics dataset for all thyroidectomies performed in England between 2004 and 2012. The study had a very impressive 43,515 participants and only included young, fit patients undergoing thyroidectomy once for...
The double-half bilobed flap or traditional bilobed flap: which is better?
Reconstruction of the nasal tip following ablative surgery can be taxing. The nasal tip is a very visible area with largely immovable skin and reconstruction needs an appreciation of the various subunits to achieve best results. The traditional superiorly based...
Developmental language disorder
Disorders such as attention deficit disorder (ADHD), autism spectrum disorder and developmental dyslexia have received widespread recognition. As a result, children affected by these conditions are able to receive remedial services. In this article, the author discusses the possible reasons...
Obstructive sleep apnoea: Does maxillomandibular advancement work?
This is a paper from the Netherlands reviewing 62 patients who underwent maxillomandibular advancement for moderate to severe obstructive sleep apnoea. The authors observed a 71% success rate with mean apnoea hypopnea index (AHI) reduction of 69%. There was no...
