Mislaid dentures: a cause for unusual presentation of bilateral vocal cord palsy.

An 81-year-old man was referred urgently to the head and neck clinic with symptoms of worsening dysphagia, dysphonia and weight loss. He had a history of chronic lymphocytic leukaemia. On full ear, nose and throat examination, he was found to have fixed vocal cords with pooling of saliva in the bilateral pyriform fossa.

Improved short-term outcomes of laparoscopic versus open resection for colon and rectal cancer in an area health service: a multicenter study.

Background: Evidence demonstrates short-term benefits of laparoscopic surgery for colon cancer. The situation for rectal cancer is less clear.

Objectives: This review assessed the use and short-term outcomes of elective open and laparoscopic colon and rectal cancer resections within an area health service.

Tumor pathology and long-term survival in emergency colorectal cancer.

Purpose: Patients who have an emergency operation for colorectal cancer have poorer long-term survival outcomes compared with elective patients. This study was designed to define the role of tumor pathology as a basis for the differences in survival outcomes.

Methods: There were 1,537 elective and 286 emergency patients who had an operation for bowel cancer from 1997 to 2003.