Search

Percutaneous tracheostomy in anticoagulated patients

This Belgian study looked at the risks and complications of bedside percutaneous tracheostomy in patients who received anticoagulant therapy. The 231 tracheostomies included in the study were performed over an eight-year period by two otolaryngologists using bronchoscopic guidance. The mean...

Genetic testing in congenital hearing loss

Advances in genetic testing over the last decade have reduced the cost and time such testing required and increased understanding of the genes involved in conditions like congenital hearing loss. This study from Atlanta looks at genetic testing from a...

Manual Therapy for Voice and Swallowing

This 300-page practical book on Manual Therapy for Voice and Swallowing is written by a single author, Walt Fritz, who is a US-based manual therapist. The first 150 pages include an overly detailed introduction, including his personal view and journey...

Tinnitus Treatment: Clinical Protocols Second Edition

When asked to review the second edition of the popular Tinnitus Treatment: Clinical Protocols, I had high expectations. The first edition, published in 2005, has been a trusted resource for students and clinicians alike, and this second edition does not...

Another use for Tisseel – plugging of the round window

After insertion of a cochlear implant electrode through the round window, there are several methods of sealing the perilymph leak and in my experience fascia (with varying amounts of attached muscle) seems to be most commonly used. Stephen O’Leary’s group...

CT chest surveillance for oral cancer patients

Computed tomography (CT) imaging of the chest is performed as part of the assessment of patients with oral cancer to exclude pulmonary metastasis or synchronous cancer. This process is integral to staging of the disease. In some cases, non-specific pulmonary...

Day care stapes surgery

This paper reports on a proposed unblinded, randomised controlled trial in which the hearing outcomes after inpatient stapes surgery will be compared with those after day case stapes surgery. The study is currently in the recruitment stage and plans to...

Do spreader grafts improve nasal airflow?

This Portuguese study looks at pre- and postoperative peak nasal inspiratory flow (PNIF) in 72 consecutive patients undergoing septorhinoplasty surgery. The aim was to demonstrate the functional value of spreader graft insertion, the aesthetic value having already been confirmed. In...

Alcohol and the vestibulo-ocular reflex (VOR)

I was drawn to this paper initially for slightly unscientific reasons but in fact it proved a worthwhile read. It describes the effect of alcohol consumption on the VOR of eight healthy subjects as measured using video head impulse testing...

Rhoton’s Atlas of Head, Neck, and Brain

Albert Rhoton was a renowned American neurosurgeon with an intense interest in anatomy. This book was published after his death in 2016 and aims to continue Rhoton’s philosophy of patients benefit deriving from surgeons’ knowledge and understanding of complex anatomy....