Search

Managing high flow head and neck arteriovenous malformations (AVM)

Vascular malformations are lesions where the traditional network of capillaries linking arteries and veins are lacking. Patients usually present with bleeding, pain, disfigurement and tissue expansion and destruction. High flow lesions can be challenging to manage in the head and...

Sialendoscopy assisted excision of parotid stones

This is a retrospective paper from China that looks to assess the efficacy and safety of sialendoscopy with a combined transoral or transcutaneous approach for the removal of parotid stones. Sialolithiasis is known to be a cause for obstructive parotid...

Smaller gauge voice prosthesis is effective in secondary trans-oesophageal puncture

Placement of voice prosthesis at the time of trachea-oesophageal puncture is well described using 20-French prostheses. There is debate about the optimal size of the prosthesis with work in the 1980s and 1990s supporting larger prostheses. The rationale was that...

Bone anchored hearing devices in very young children

This paper presents results of BC devices in very young children and helps inform an honest discussion of risks / benefit with prospective parents. The authors of this article from Starship Children’s Hospital, Auckland, New Zealand have a series of...

When should we decompress the facial nerve in Bell’s Palsy?

It has been over three decades since Fisch popularised facial nerve (FN) decompression for Bell’s Palsy. Studies further exploring this have been few since, partly due to the major complications that can occur following this type of surgery. The current...

Using autologous blood to reduce postoperative infections

The removal of impacted wisdom teeth is a common surgical procedure with possible complications including postoperative bleeding and wound infection and alveolar osteitis. Preventing osteitis is dependent on retaining the blood clot in the socket with no infection. There are...

Management of postoperative cholesteatoma

This prospective longitudinal observational study compared the ability of second-look surgery with that of surveillance using serial non-echo-planar diffusion-weighted imaging to detect residual cholesteatoma after canal wall-up mastoidectomy. A total of 34 patients were included in the study who underwent...

The push towards scarless parotid surgery

When dealing with benign parotid pathology, high expectations are placed on the operating surgeon to preserve key neurovascular structures, especially the animating facial nerve, through meticulous dissection. With time, there has been a greater emphasis on improving cosmesis in parotid...

Globus, reflux or perhaps both?

We rarely do an ENT clinic without encountering a patient with persistent or recurring feeling of a lump or foreign body in the throat. We are also familiar with patients dreading to hear the C word after the endoscopic examination...

Difficult consultations with HPV-positive oropharnyeal cancer patients

The aetiological role of human papillomavirus (HPV) in oropharyngeal squamous cell carcinoma (OPSCC) is well established, and its incidence has massively increased over the last decade, whilst the incidence of HPV-negative OPSCC is declining. Although we know that HPV-positive OPSCC...