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Risk factors for pharyngocutaneous fistula after laryngectomy

Pharyngocutaneous or salivary fistula is a feared complication following laryngectomy, causing significant morbidity, prolonged hospital inpatient stay / cost and mortality. Previous radiotherapy / chemoradiotherapy is a well recognised risk factor and leads many surgeons to recommend onlay pectoralis major...

Long-term outcomes after (adeno) tonsillectomy

Patient-reported outcome measures (PROMs) are used increasingly to fill an ‘evidence gap’ where healthcare rationing threatens particular treatments. Tonsillectomy is a long-established and effective treatment for recurrent tonsillitis and obstructive sleep apnoea (OSA) in children. The T-14 outcome measure examines...

Long-term quality outcomes of bimaxillary surgery of obstructive sleep apnoea

This is a review of 12 patients at two years postoperatively and again at at least 17 years. Successful outcome of a decrease in apnoea-hypopnoea index (AHI) of greater than 50% was thought to be success. Eight of the initial...

Patient factors associated with spontaneous CSF leak

This article highlights the role of obesity, sleep apnoea and raised intracranial pressure as linked pathologies in the aetiology of the spontaneous cerebrospinal fluid (sCSF) leak. The authors link sCSF leak with obesity and comment on sCSF leak incidence increasing...

Do parents sleep better after paediatric adenotonsillectomy?

Paediatric adenotonsillectomy for sleep disordered breathing (SDB) is amongst the commonest surgical procedures performed in ENT. In the outpatient clinic, parents routinely express their concern about their child’s breathing but the impact of sleep disordered breathing on the parent is...

The septum and breathing

The authors compared the improvement in nasal obstructive symptoms in two groups of patients. One group underwent septoplasty alone and the other septoplasty accompanied with compensatory turbinoplasty. They used the Nasal Obstruction Symptom Evaluation (NOSE) [12] and visual analog scale...

Swallowing and breathing: speech and language therapy

Swallowing difficulties are a common comorbidity in just over a quarter of people living with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). Given the associated risks of aspiration and exacerbation of COPD symptoms, speech and language therapists (SLTs) can offer valuable guidance...

Surgical variations in maxillomandibular surgery treating sleep apnoea

This is a scoping review further highlighting the success in curing sleep apnoea with a maxillomandibular complex advancement. The variations outlined are on East and Southeast Asian patients to reduce the aesthetic concern of bi-maxillary protrusion when large advancements are...

Tubomanometry in eustachian tube dysfunction

This prospective study evaluated the validity and reliability of tubomanometry (TMM) in 25 patients with sinus disease, 75 patients with middle ear disease and 25 healthy volunteers. After thorough clinical examination, the participants were evaluated with TMM, nasal endoscope, otoendoscope,...

Maxillomandibular advancement and airway morphology

This is a cadaveric study comparing alterations in airway volume. Seven advancements of the maxillomandibular complex were undertaken, each with a 2 mm incremental advancement being scanned with a total of eight scans per cadaver. They showed that comparisons between...

In the United States, do people with dysphagia have a higher chance of being dysphonic?

Dysphagia and dysphonia can co-occur due to their shared anatomy and physiology. Previous studies have considered this relationship and determined that certain conditions, such as cancer, laryngeal impairments or neurological disorders, may lead to problems with both swallowing and voice....