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Endolymphatic sac surgery for Ménière’s disease

This is a very useful meta-analysis for those that perform surgery for Ménière’s disease. It specifically looked at differences in various forms of endolymphatic sac surgery (ESS). A total of 36 papers were included. The results: ESS controls vertigo in...

Deglutition in pharyngolaryngectomy patients

Circular defects after total pharyngolaryngectomy present a reconstructive challenge. In this study, the authors compared the swallowing results after three reconstructive techniques: free forearm flap, free jejunal loop and folded pectoralis major flap. Forty-six patients were included and were evaluated...

Bright young things: executive functioning in younger, older and aphasic people

Executive function comprises several higher order cognitive processes such as planning, organisation, adaptation, maintenance, monitoring and decision making. It is thought that difficulties in cognitive flexibility in people with aphasia are associated with difficulties in executive function rather than the...

Factors influencing transformation of laryngeal dysplasia to malignancy in a 10-year review

Laryngeal dysplasia has a propensity to change into malignancy, the generally reported rate of this being about 14%. In this retrospective study of 125 patients, the authors have assessed the severity of dysplasia in relation to the incidence and time...

The cocktail party conundrum

I feel, with slight sadness and disappointment, that a good cocktail party, dresses, punch bowls and all is not currently in its heyday and, therefore, opportunity of attending is slim. However, from what I remember, they tend to be a...

Skull Base Surgery: Strategies

This book sets out to highlight the decision-making process in this most complex and technically demanding area of surgical practice. Its aim, as described in the foreword, is to show the “decision making process of choosing and executing a surgical...

Vascular Lesions of the Head and Neck: Diagnosis and Management

The primary authors, all working out of New York, have successfully published this up to date text on vascular lesions of the head and neck. The book provides a review of the pathology, basic science, radiologic features and treatment modalities....

Predicting CSF leaks pre FESS: Gera classification - a new tool?

An interesting study from Italy looking at an anterior skull base classification that may be useful in predicting risk of intraoperative CSF leak during FESS surgery. Traditionally we have used the Keros classification system, developed in 1962 to categorise olfactory...