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To monitor the nerves or not?

Whilst intraoperative nerve monitoring has become the standard of care for mastoid and parotid surgery, its benefit in thyroid surgery remains unclear. In the UK NICE was agnostic on the subject in 2008, stating that it was potentially helpful and...

Ultrasound assessment of metastatic disease

This Japanese study of 10 patients over 15 years, assesses the role of ultrasonography in assessing metastatic disease to the thyroid gland, specifically renal clear cell carcinoma (RCCC). Whilst uncommon, the authors state that there is a favourable prognosis when...

Core or fine needle assessment in lymphadenopathy and salivary gland tumours

This paper from the Republic of Korea analyses 278 patients retrospectively, 112 of which underwent fine need aspiration and 166 core needle biopsies. Eleven patients had indeterminate fine needle aspiration cytology, six of whom had an additional core biopsy. The...

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...

Promising surgical technique for pulsatile tinnitus caused by sigmoid sinus dehiscence?

Pulsatile tinnitus (PT) can be caused by sigmoid sinus dehiscence (SSD). The authors report the results of 17 patients who underwent sandwich surgical technique for sigmoid sinus (SS) wall reconstruction for the treatment of pulsatile tinnitus caused by sigmoid sinus...

Chorda tympani in middle ear surgery

This was a prospective study at a single Belgian centre that aimed to monitor postoperative taste problems after middle ear surgery. The authors also looked at the influence of pathology and manipulation of chorda tympani (CT) on its function. Taste...

Endoscopic stapes surgery

This retrospective Turkish study looked at the audiological and surgical outcomes of 40 patients who underwent endoscopic stapes surgery over a three-year period. To assess the learning curve, the patients were divided into two groups based on the date of...

Paediatric idiopathic sudden sensorineural hearing loss

This Turkish retrospective study looked at the radiological and clinical characteristics, prognostic factors and treatment outcomes in children diagnosed with idiopathic sudden sensorineural hearing loss (ISSNHL). Forty-eight children were included over an eight-year period. Complete recovery (CR) was achieved in...

Traditional incision and drainage of a quinsy may be more efficacious than aspiration

Peritonsillar abscess drainage has always been one of the first procedures an ENT junior doctor performs. Traditionally incision and drainage (I&D) was the mainstay of treatment. In recent years, needle aspiration of the abscess has become much more commonplace, perhaps...

Reasons for attending annual hearing aid review appointments

The aim of this study was to investigate what factors influence hearing aid users’ decision to attend or not attend an annual hearing aid review (HAR) appointment. Two separate surveys were created for attendees and non-attendees. An invitation letter was...

Extracapsular dissection versus parotidectomy

This is a literature review of 16 papers using the PRISMA protocol. In comparing the two techniques, not surprisingly, they found that extracapsular dissection was associated with a reduced incidence of facial nerve paralysis and Frey’s syndrome and a shorter...

Bone thickness and split pattern in mandibular osteotomies

This paper looked at 63 sagittal split ramus osteotomy sites. The type of split was classified according to the Plooij paper and bone measurements were taken at four sites. Of these sites, the thickness of the bone in one point,...