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Management of necrotising otitis externa

Although uncommon, necrotising (previously malignant) otitis externa (nOE) can be very aggressive, particularly if not managed appropriately. In this study the authors perform a retrospective review of 25 patients admitted with nOE over a four year period at a tertiary...

Is there a role for facial nerve decompression in Ramsay Hunt syndrome?

This is an interesting paper. The authors recommend a transmastoid facial decompression for patients with complete facial nerve paralysis with House Brackman HB 5/6 who do not show any sign of recovery after two weeks of treatment following a diagnosis...

Otosclerosis - to scan or not to scan?

In an era of insidiously reducing thresholds for investigating patients, Maxwell and colleagues pose an important question: is high-resolution computed tomography (HRCT) prior to stapes surgery for otosclerosis worthwhile? Their practice typically considers HRCT for cases of suspected otosclerosis presenting...

Unravelling the Meniere’s vs. migraine conundrum – what does the mastoid contribute?

This is an interesting observational study that attempts to classify subtypes of Meniere’s disease (MD) in relation to the coexistence of migraine. It is well known that the two conditions share common characteristics, making diagnosis and treatment challenging at times....

An advance in imaging for sinonasal tumours?

Benign sinonasal growths are incredibly common, and malignant sinonasal growths thankfully rare. We know that malignant tumours often present late, and the imaging can sometimes be misleading, so the authors here compare using diffusion weighted imaging (DWI), dynamic contrast enhanced...

Is it beneficial for children to undergo bilateral cochlear implantation before 12 months old?

Universal newborn hearing screening has allowed early diagnosis and, subsequently, early intervention in hearing loss. In 2020 the Food and Drug Administration candidacy criteria for cochlear implants (CI) expanded to include profound sensorineural hearing loss (HL) in children as young...

A safe management pathway for low-risk head and neck cancer suspected referrals

Head and neck cancer is the eighth most common malignancy and numbers are increasing. This has led to increasing number of suspected cancer referrals which, with imposition of the 28-day Faster Diagnosis Standard implemented in 2020, has further burdened the...