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Maternal angst

This paper confirms the anxiety that a mother experiences when their child undergoes surgery. The paper focuses on adenoidectomy and adenotonsillectomy for moderate to severe upper airway obstruction showing admirably how anxiety reduces following surgery. The authors recruited 66 mothers...

Recovery rates in sudden sensorineural hearing loss

Sudden sensorineural hearing loss (SSNHL) is most commonly idiopathic, and is seen relatively frequently in ENT practice. Recovery spans a period of around 1-2 months, and ultimate outcomes are highly variable, from complete recovery to no detectable hearing. Although the...

Assessment of the incidence of LPR in the Greek population using the Reflux Symptom Index

Using the self-administered nine-item Belafsky Reflux Symptom Index (RSI) questionnaire, the authors of this article assessed the prevalence of laryngopharyngeal reflux (LPR) in the general adult Greek population as well as predisposing and associated factors for developing LPR. They found...

Velopharyngeal insufficiency after adenotonsillectomy

The authors retrospectively reviewed the clinical records of 320 paediatric patients who underwent either tonsillectomy, adenoidectomy or adenotonsillectomy, under a single paediatric ENT surgeon. Patients with pre-existing velopharyngeal insufficiency (VPI) were excluded, as assessed by preoperative testing for nasal air...

Balloon compared to FESS – long-term patient satisfaction

Balloon compared to FESS – long-term patient satisfaction This paper is the first controlled study of balloon sinoplasty’s long-term efficacy, with a follow-up extending over five years. There were 208 patients analysed and 88 recruited. Exclusions were nasal polyps grade...

Useful algorithm to manage adults with branchial cysts

Managing a solitary cystic lateral neck mass, specifically differentiating between a simple second branchial cyst and a metastatic cyst poses a challenge. Often the diagnosis only becomes apparent on the final histology. This paper analysed 28 adults that presented to...

SPECT scans not justified in growth of the mandibular condyle

This is a paper from Hong Kong of 200 patients between January 2011 and July 2013 who underwent SPECT bone scintigraphy for assessment of growth causing condylar hyperplasia and subsequent mandibular asymmetry. Thirty-four patients were found to have active growth...

Which is worse – unilateral or bilateral tinnitus?

Few studies have analysed subjective aspects of tinnitus or the association between clinical characteristics and the directionality of tinnitus. The study subjects comprised 207 patients who presented with tinnitus over two years and underwent tinnitus-related physical examinations and tinnitograms (includes...

Listening in noise to predict learning disability

Noise disrupts the neural coding of consonants more than vowels. Listening in noise presents a challenge for everybody, but particularly to children whose language skills are underdeveloped. This team views background noise as a disruption to the necessary neural mechanisms...

Postoperative pain in septoplasty

This is a prospective Turkish study that looked at factors affecting the postoperative pain response after septoplasty, a common ENT surgical procedure. Sixty patients were included in the study who underwent septoplasty. The authors looked at the influence of demographics...

Short-term risk of falling after cochlear implantation

This paper examined the effect of cochlear implantation on balance function in 16 adult patients. The authors assessed balance pre- and (two weeks) post-operatively by timing how long each patient was able to stand on a foam pad with their...

Vestibular functions of hereditary hearing loss patients with GJB2 mutations

Mutations of the GJB2 gene are a common cause of deafness, being found in 15-25% of cases of congenital deafness. Over 100 mutations are now recognised and may be associated with a hearing loss ranging from mild to profound. This...