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A twitch in time with a flicker of knowledge

The middle ear muscles can be seen as one of the ear’s safety mechanisms, and the interplay between eyes and ears has been established; think vestibular ocular reflex (VOR) or semi-circular canal dehiscence (SCCD). But can this protective mechanism be...

Helmets make a difference in bicycle injuries

This is a meta-analysis of maxillofacial injuries arising from riding a bicycle. The incidence of maxillofacial fractures in cycling accidents varies from 3-20% and, whilst the effectiveness of helmets in preventing traumatic brain injuries is well known, their protective effect...

Impact of Covid-19 on secretory otitis media (SOM) in terms of rate of intervention, effusion detected intraoperatively and seasonal variation

It is widely known that secretory otitis media (SOM) has seasonal variations. In well-judged cases, there is middle ear effusion found at the time of surgery. In this retrospective study, the authors have tried to assess if Covid-19 changed these...

Predicting the need for salvage laryngectomy

The treatment of laryngeal cancer has seen a shift towards organ preservation strategies with non-surgical treatment offering equivalent survival outcomes. Nonetheless, salvage total laryngectomy (SLT) remains an important curative management option in cases of treatment failure or recurrence. The authors...

Transoral coblation surgery – a viable option for early laryngeal cancers involving the anterior commissure?

Transoral laser microsurgery is widely considered to represent the ideal treatment modality for early (T1a) laryngeal cancers. With disease involving the anterior commissure however, radiotherapy is often advocated on account of perceived superior voice and airway outcomes, plus potential difficulty...

Early injection laryngoplasty for iatrogenic vocal fold movement impairment – a safe and effective treatment

This Ed’s Choice examines the role of early injection laryngoplasty on swallowing dysfunction and is one of a few studies available in the literature. Research on early injection laryngoplasty has been predominately focused on voice and reducing the risk of...

Can we centralise cochlear implant surgery and keep most appointments close to home?

The NHS Five Year Forward View promoted seeing patients closer to home in order to provide better care, cut down on missed appointments and reduce costs. This encouraged the development of ‘hub and spoke’ models of care, but this model...

When should revision FESS leave you reaching for the script pad?

This very interesting work from the professorial team in London seeks to define a group of patients with CRSwNP who may benefit from early biological treatment since they are at risk of failure of surgical and conventional medical management. Approximately...

Outcomes of larger glottic cancer volumes treated with radiotherapy

T3 glottic cancer is characterised as vocal cord fixation and/or invasion into pre-epiglottic, post-cricoid, paraglottic spaces and/or within the inner cortex of thyroid cartilage. Traditionally, laryngectomy was considered the primary option to treat T3 laryngeal glottic cancers until other options...

Management of post-tonsillectomy bleeding with nebulised TXA

In the last 20 years, rates of adult tonsillectomy have fallen in the order of 50%. The flipside to this, is that the number of admissions of patients with acute tonsilitis is more than double the reduction in tonsillectomy rates....