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Head and neck cancer and PET-CT

Positron emission tomography-computed tomography (PET-CT) is an imaging technique in which abnormalities of tissue metabolism are precisely superimposed onto the anatomy. It relies on the premise that malignant cells are more metabolically active compared with non-malignant cells. On this basis,...

Facial pain: the differential diagnosis in an ENT clinic

The patient presenting with facial pain can be a heartsink. Fear not – Bhaskar Ram and Sangeeta Maini are here with a succinct overview of the common non-sinogenic causes of facial pain and headache, and how to manage them. Facial...

The HEARO Procedure for cochlear implantation

Cochlear implants have become the state-of-the-art treatment for profound to severe sensorineural hearing loss. Since its popularisation, many aspects of this technology have constantly been optimised. Processors have become smaller, are worn behind the ear and are even water resistant....

The fatal illness of Frederick the Noble

Sir Morell Mackenzie is acknowledged as the ‘Father of British Otolaryngology’. He was the leading throat specialist of his time and one of the founders of the Journal of Laryngology and Otology in 1887. He studied in Paris, Vienna and...

The ear, nose and throat anaesthesia practice of Dr John Snow (1813-58)

News of the first successful public demonstration of general anaesthesia in Boston, Massachusetts in October 1846 reached Britain in mid-December of that year. James Robinson, a London dentist, gave the first anaesthetic in the United Kingdom when, on 19 December,...

The Matchgirls and Phossy Jaw: a striking tale of industrial action

Poor working conditions, long hours, low pay – and the prospect of a dangerous and disfiguring osteonecrosis of the jaw. These were the triggers for the 1400 ‘matchgirls’ of the Bryant and May factory to strike in July 1888, a...

The golden nose – reshaping the nose 100 years ago

Wolf Lűbbers (with the golden nose). Who with a crooked nose would not embrace the chance to go to bed in the evening wearing a surgical device and wake up the following morning with a straight one? And all this...