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In conversation with Harvey Coates

Indigenous health would remain a Cinderella part of our speciality were it not for the work of a few outstanding pioneers. Kelvin Kong speaks to one of them: Professor Harvey Coates AO. Harvey Coates is a paediatric otolaryngologist and clinical...

Vestibular rehabilitation therapy: diagnosis based strategies

In his second article on this topic (see here for the first article), Richard E Gans explains how to use vestibular rehabilitation therapy to treat vestibular patients, and demonstrates why this method of diagnosis based strategies has proved so successful....

Meaningful life changes following hearing aid use: a qualitative user perspective

Part of a larger survey on hearing aid outcomes and experiences, this US-based study explores meaningful life changes due to hearing aid use in adults, with the aim of contributing to and improving all aspects of aural rehabilitation for this...

Coblation tongue channelling

After uvulopalatoplasty, the tendency is to focus on the tongue base as the next anatomical area to address in the management of snoring and sleep-disordered breathing. In this article, Glen Burgess describes the technique of tongue channelling, to reduce the...

The newest robot from da Vinci – what can it offer for hypopharyngeal cancer surgery?

The standard existing da Vinci surgical robot (the Si model) has been much maligned for not being optimally designed for transoral access and endoscopic manoeuvrability in head and neck surgery. This preclinical work from Holsinger and his team looks at...

An alternative device for obstructive sleep apnoea

Continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) is the first-line treatment for obstructive sleep apnoea (OSA), primarily due to the vast amount of short-term evidence in the medical literature it has accrued. The enduring obstacle to CPAP from becoming a treatment option...

A novel graft material for endoscopic tympanoplasty using the pre-tragal SMAS layer

The traditional biological graft materials for providing a scaffold for tympanic membrane reconstruction include temporalis fascia as well as conchal and tragal perichondrium/cartilage. This group from Taiwan present a novel graft option using the superficial musculo-aponeurotic system (SMAS) layer. They...

Automated contouring of costal cartilage for pinna reconstruction – a proof of concept

Presently there are limited applications of automation within operative ENT. This proof-of-concept study explores the use of an augmented robot to contour cadaveric costal cartilage for auricular reconstruction. Ordinarily this task is performed manually. This takes considerable time due to...

Balloon Eustachian tuboplasty – is it time to start doing it in children?

Given the potential applications for balloon Eustachian tuboplasty (BET) in children, its uptake in most centres has been slow. The reasons for this are multifactorial. There are technical issues – the feasibility of obtaining the correct size balloon and manoeuvring...

Person-centric practice within a hearing wellbeing programme

This Australian team describe their development process of a hearing wellbeing programme beginning in August 2020, with a wide variety of stakeholders being involved. Primarily, they report, they aimed to overcome the challenge of providing engaging social and emotional support...

Hear me out – tiny steroid implants for fighting meningitis-induced deafness

Sensorineural hearing loss is the most common neurological complication of pneumococcal meningitis. Bacterial infiltration into the inner ear triggers inflammation, leading to cochlear fibrosis and sclerosis – damage that, in over a third of cases, affects both ears. Current Infectious...

The use of 3D videos to improve patient engagement with compensatory swallowing strategies

Patients with dysphagia are often asked to use compensatory techniques or manoeuvres to facilitate safe swallowing. For example, they may be taught to do a supraglottic swallow to minimise aspiration or a specific postural adjustment to support bolus flow. These...