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The GP and the ear

General practitioners are the first members of the medical community to deal with ear problems. In this survey, 11 GPs examined 124 patients using a regular otoscope and a video-otoscope and reported their findings in a 10-item table. The same...

Videofluoroscopic swallowing studies: balancing risks and benefits

Videofluoroscopic swallow studies (VFSS) are an important part of the diagnostic toolkit and arguably the current gold-standard for assessing swallow biomechanics and diagnosing dysphagia. However, the procedure does involve exposure to radiation, and any clinician requesting this should be able...

Rhinology and 3D printing

3D printing has increasing applications in rhinology, for instance to create patient-specific preoperative models for procedure planning, including designing a template for reconstruction planning following tumour resection, patient consultation and customised prostheses. The authors focused their review on the role...

Managing the thyroglossal duct cyst

Although the operation to remove thyroglossal cysts and their tracts is commonly performed, a full understanding of the possible anatomical locations of the tracts may be less appreciated. This article helps the reader understand the possible variations available which should...

Robot controlled mastoid surgery!

This is a fascinating piece of work by a Korean team developing a human-robot collaborative control. Their model uses image guidance surgery to locate the drill tip’s position. Important structures can be highlighted – in this case the facial nerve....

Margin control using optical techniques in head and neck surgery

Emerging optical techniques such as high-resolution microendoscopy (HRME) are currently being examined for their reliability in discriminating benign from neoplastic epithelium. These techniques may offer the potential to detect the margin of an upper aerodigestive tract tumour in a non-invasive...