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The common frontal sinusotomy (Lothrop) and chronic rhinosinusitis

As our understanding of the pathophysiology of CRS evolves, so do our treatment strategies. It is accepted that in many cases, the main role of surgery is to allow better penetration of topical therapies to the sinus cavities. What, then,...

Not just the scissors: the story of Myron Metzenbaum

Myron Metzenbaum was born in Cleveland, Ohio (USA) in 1876, the fourth of nine children. As a young man, he worked in the family’s linen store, where his father was well known to be very kind to the less fortunate...

Hearables: in-ear sensing devices for recording of physiological signals

Colver Ken Howe Ne, Jameel Muzaffar and Manohar Bance discuss the potential of hearable systems to monitor physiological signals (e.g. from brain or heart, blood pressure, body temperature) unobtrusively. Such adaptations require high-quality sensors and sophisticated de-noising signal processing on...

The future of inner ear drug delivery

The techniques for delivering drugs to the inner ear system are evolving. Jeffrey Harris considers the myths, the facts and the potential for drug delivery innovations and how they can improve tomorrow’s hearing outcomes. The inner ear’s delicate membranous structure,...

The ups and downs of overseas research – the inner ear at altitude

Conducting research at extreme altitude presents unique challenges. This study of the inner ear at 5350m navigates setbacks in a quest for scientific discovery. Having completed a diploma in mountain medicine in my foundation years, I decided to undertake a...

Patient and public involvement in research

One step further from involving patients in setting research priorities is to involve them in the planning and recruitment stages of the subsequent trials and studies. Here, Carl Philpott and Aneeka Degun explain the concept of Patient and Public Involvement...

Genetics WG4. Improving diagnosis and drug development through the genetic understanding of tinnitus subtypes: a TINNET endeavour

Christopher R Cederroth and Jose Antonio Lopez-Escamez explain how progress is being made to investigate the contribution of genetic factors to tinnitus, including a subtype of ‘extreme’ tinnitus in Ménière’s disease. Genetics WG4 is working towards determining the genetic basis...

Mastoid surgery for cholesteatoma

Landmark Paper: Toner JG, Smyth GDL. Surgical Treatment of Cholesteatoma: a comparison of three techniques. Am J Otol 1990;11(4):247-9. Canal wall up or canal wall down? Chris Aldren discusses the landmark paper that attempted to provide a definitive answer for...

From Hippocrates to COVID-19: sniffing out the disease

The ancient Greek physician, Hippocrates, used the ‘art of smell’ to diagnose diseases around 400BC. He also formulated miasmatic theory, which posited that disease is caused by bad smells. Bad air was strongly believed by many physicians to be the...

Transoral endoscopic thyroidectomy / parathyroidectomy – a new approach

Historically, scarless surgery has been popular in certain cultures. But is it gaining traction around the world? A UK team tell us more. Background Alternative, remote access approaches to thyroidectomy and parathyroidectomy are increasing in popularity, the newest of these...

Allergy – what’s in a name?

Allergy is defined as an “abnormal immune reaction to an ordinarily harmless substance” [1], however the meaning of the word has taken many forms since its introduction in 1906 by Austrian Paediatrician and Immunologist, Clemens von Pirquet [2]. Combining his...