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Patient-reported outcome measures in septorhinoplasty

Patient-reported outcome measures (PROMs) are used increasingly in surgical research to quantify the efficacy of surgical interventions. This can help to fill an ‘evidence gap’ where healthcare rationing threatens particular treatments. Procedures aimed at improving quality of life, especially with...

Thyroid nodule update

This excellent article summarises the current diagnostic difficulties with an endocrine gland that frequently produces nodules, some of which may harbour malignancy. At 50 years of age and over there is about a 50% chance of having a nodule; at...

Consequences of tonsillectomy rationing?

This article examines Hospital Episode Statistics and Office for National Statistics data to investigate the change in rates of tonsillectomy and admissions for tonsillitis and its complications, over a 20-year period. Between 1991 and 2011, 44% fewer tonsillectomies were performed....

Dispelling the myths around stuttering and bilingualism

There are many myths around language development in bilingual children, and an increased risk of stuttering in bilingual children is one of these misperceptions. In research studies, speech and language therapists have identified higher numbers of dysfluencies in speech samples...

Avoiding the sweaty cheek

Frey’s syndrome is a common (10-40%) and important complication following parotid surgery. Gustatory sweating during oral stimulation can be embarrassing as it is accompanied by flushing and a sensation of heat. This is as a direct result of regenerated parasympathetic...

Are elective neck dissections needed during salvage laryngectomy?

There has recently been a move away from elective neck dissections in the setting of salvage laryngectomy. This has mainly resulted from an appreciation of the increase in morbidity, in particular pharyngocutaneous fistula formation, and an improvement in cross-sectional imaging...

Mental practice could be a great COVID-19 solution for delivering swallow rehab

Motor imagery is defined as the process of voluntarily generating a mental image of a motor function without actually doing said function. Mental practice (MP) is the process of doing this repeatedly; practising it. There is some evidence that this...

When to operate on a patient without chronic disease?

As ENT surgeons, we spend a lot of time managing chronic rhinosinusitis, so a review and update on the management of the acute disease is always helpful. The standard medical treatment of antibiotics, nasal steroids and nasal decongestants are reported...

Wisdom teeth and mandibular osteotomies

This is a systemic review and meta-analysis from Italy and Brazil where they try to clarify the role of wisdom teeth and complications in a sagittal split mandibular osteotomy. Whilst, like many other papers, they outline the quality of evidence...

Age and sleep disorders as risk factors for Ménière’s disease

Decades after it was first described, the pathophysiology of Ménière’s disease is still a subject for research and discussion, with several controversies regarding its management. Several factors have been reported to cause Ménière’s disease including viral infections, allergies, genetic factors,...