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Preoperative risk factors: when do you need to refer to the haematologist?

It is essential that clinicians are able to identify and assess which patients are in the high risk category for bleeding during ENT surgery. A full history, including medications, herbal remedies taken, any other medical co-morbidities and family history of...

Diurnal and monthly variations in secondary post-tonsillectomy haemorrhage rates

Several studies have looked into variable haemorrhagic rates with different methods of surgery and clinical backgrounds. Few have looked into non-clinical factors such as environment and diurnal influence on occurrence of post-tonsillectomy bleeding. This extensive study comprises 5357 tonsillectomy patients...

Factors affecting the occurrence of salivary fistula after total laryngectomy

It is generally believed that patients should be fed by nasogastric tube for 7-10 days after undergoing total laryngectomy or laryngopharyngectomy to avoid the occurrence of post-operative salivary fistula. This study challenges this belief and looks into various factors that...

Merocel vs Cutanplast Anal packing

This study compared two different nasal dressings after septoplasty. Seventy-six patients acted as their own controls by having one nostril packed with Merocel and one nostril somewhat improbably with Cutanplast Anal (gelatin sponge). It seems that the gelatin sponge was...

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...

Which technique is better for turbinate reduction: surgical turbinoplasty or radiofrequency ablation?

Turbinate hypertrophy; radiofrequency; surgical turbinoplasty; visual analogue score

Do ENT surgical patients need VTE prophylaxis?

In the UK, current NICE guidance for venous thromboembolism (VTE) prevention does not give specific advice about patients undergoing otolaryngology/head and neck surgery (OHNS). This systematic review provides up-to-date information based on available, although limited, evidence about the incidence of...

Inpatient or outpatient thyroidectomy?

This systematic review and meta-analysis discusses the safety of hemithyroidectomy in an outpatient vis-à-vis an inpatient setting. Thyroidectomy has traditionally been performed as an inpatient procedure. Currently, an increasing number of surgeons are performing thyroidectomy in outpatient settings. The main...

The perils of poor postop blood pressure control

This retrospective case control study reviews 621 patients undergoing thyroid surgery over a 10-year period from 2002-2012 looking at postoperative haemorrhage rates. This potentially catastrophic complication warrants close analysis in order to best discern how it can be minimised. The...

Importance of nasal septal cartilage perichondrium for septum strength mechanics: a cadaveric study

This experimental cadaver study aimed to investigate the biomechanical qualities of the perichondrium and cartilage, and to determine the strength of the septal cartilage against bending forces. The nasal septal cartilages of 14 fresh cadavers (eight hours post-mortem) without nasal...

Managing high flow head and neck arteriovenous malformations (AVM)

Vascular malformations are lesions where the traditional network of capillaries linking arteries and veins are lacking. Patients usually present with bleeding, pain, disfigurement and tissue expansion and destruction. High flow lesions can be challenging to manage in the head and...