Search

CT and intraoperative nerve monitoring to identify non-recurrent laryngeal nerve during thyroid surgery

A non-recurrent laryngeal nerve (NRLN) is a rare (incidence 0.3% to 1.3%) anatomical variant that results in a higher rate of vocal cord palsy following thyroid surgery. This team from China examined the utility of preoperative CT and intraoperative nerve...

Neuromodulation in drug resistant epilepsy

Treatment of epilepsy can be considered generally as medical or surgical. Anti-epileptic drugs achieve a five-year seizure freedom in 54-70% patients. It is estimated that 50-90% of patients with drug-refractory epilepsy may not be candidates for resective surgery. For example,...

Is flexible nasendoscopy really aerosol generating?

Amid the COVID-19 pandemic, the safety of office-based laryngoscopy has been a source of considerable concern, speculation and debate. Flexible nasendoscopy is a key diagnostic tool in the assessment of the ENT patient, however most healthcare providers consider this to...

‘Acoustic shock’

Development of hearing loss due to traditional and steady state noise in working environments has well defined medical, physical and legal implications in the present times. Organisations not complying with ‘Noise at Work Regulations 1989’ are liable for compensation if...

Benign oesophageal strictures: overview and management strategies

Benign oesophageal strictures may have several attributable causes including caustic injuries, long-term acid reflux, eosinophilic oesophagitis, anastomotic strictures and endoscopic therapy. Endoscopic dilation via bougies or balloon dilators may treat most strictures successfully and satisfactorily. However, in some situations treatment...

Resolving dysphagia – can we distinguish mild dysphagia from no dysphagia?

Many patients with dysphagia following neurological events can and do experience a resolution of their swallowing difficulties, sometimes without any intervention. However, it is challenging for clinicians to distinguish mild dysphagia from no dysphagia. The question of where to draw...

Intra orbital treatment to save the eye!

Invasive fungal sinusitis can be a devastating condition, and accepted management is surgical debridement of infected tissue, systemic antifungal treatment and reversal of immunosuppression. Orbital involvement is common, affecting up to 75% of cases, and in advanced disease orbital exenteration...

Gadolinium enhanced MRI and the diagnosis of Ménière’s disease

Despite various criteria applied over the years to diagnose Ménière’s disease since the concept of endolymphatic hydrops was first observed in postmortem examinations of patients in 1938, the diagnosis still remains mainly clinical. To visualise endolymphatic hydrops in MRI imaging,...