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How well are we managing epistaxis cases?

Epistaxis constitutes 34.5% of all emergency admissions to otolaryngology departments nation-wide. Presently there are no detailed consensus guidelines for this commonest emergency, and there is tremendous variation of practice. Quite often, non-ENT trained doctors manage this emergency. This paper reviews...

Division of tongue tie helps breast feeding

The need for frenotomy in children with tongue tie is not universally accepted. It is however understood that among other problems, such as impaired speech, tongue tie impedes breast feeding possibly leading to early weaning. Therefore, with recent resurgence of...

“Rhinosweetometry”

An article that elicits a wry smile from the reader is worth drawing attention to particularly in the winter months. This account of brave self-experimentation is unlikely to lead to a future Nobel prize but nonetheless reinforces the important principle...

Surgical indications for infantile haemangiomas

Infantile haemangiomas are embryonal tumours and represent the most common tumour of infancy, with an estimated incidence 4-5%. There is well-described natural history, usually becoming apparent in the first few weeks of life and proliferating rapidly in the first few...

Earlier intervention to correct anosmia?

This is an interesting study aimed to determine the timing for successful surgical intervention in improving the sense of smell in patients with chronic rhinosinusitis with nasal polyps (CRSwNP). A total of 86 CRSwNP patients with loss of smell and...

Virtual reality simulation training for cochlear implant surgery

Temporal bone virtual reality (VR) simulation training has been shown to be a useful tool for learning mastoidectomy. The authors aimed to evaluate the role of VR in cochlear implant (CI) surgery. The study was performed as part of a...

Effect of swallowing exercises following free flap for oral cancer reconstruction

This paper from Beijing looked at 68 patients, 34 in a control group and 34 in an intervention group. Oral exercise training was performed by a specialist swallowing nurse in the intervention group. They found that personalised oral exercises had...

Apps in allergic rhinitis

Utilising smart-phone applications to gather data is an expanding field in medicine. However, it is not without limitations including bias. The European Innovation Partnership on Active and Healthy Ageing (EIP on AHA) introduced the Allergy Diary application as part of...

3D ultrasonography for evaluation of muscles following facial palsy

Reconstructive surgery for facial nerve palsies is not recommended beyond two to three years after a degenerative facial nerve lesion. Since the time course of muscle atrophy is variable, this timeline is a rough guideline. The only assessment method currently...

Going online with dysphagia practice: potential for innovation post pandemic

Telepractice is perhaps the most widespread service innovation to have received such rapid uptake across health systems globally. Disciplines that started to adopt telehealth prior to the pandemic found themselves at the forefront of a seismic shift to delivering healthcare...