Tongue base augmentation to improve swallow function in a cadaveric model.

Objectives: To evaluate the feasibility of using Calcium Hydroxylapatite (CaHA) to augment the tongue base for patients with swallowing impairment due to tongue base atrophy.

Methods: A fresh human cadaver was obtained through the institution's body donation program and baseline lateral fluoroscopic images were obtained. A total of 2 mL of CaHA (Prolaryn Plus) were injected into three sites of the base of tongue under flexible endoscopic guidance with a 22G, 1.

Effects of Pyridostigmine on Esophageal and Pharyngeal Motility in Dysphagic Patients Undergoing High-Resolution Manometry.

Weak or absent peristalsis of the esophageal musculature is a common finding in ambulatory patients suffering from dysphagia and frequently associated with gastroesophageal reflux. There is currently no pharmacologic intervention that reliably improves esophageal contractility in patients suffering from various esophageal motility disorders. Our objective was to evaluate the acute effects of pyridostigmine on high-resolution manometry parameters in patients suffering from dysphagia with evidence of esophageal dysmotility.

Percutaneous and Open Tracheostomy in Patients with COVID-19: Comparison and Outcomes of an Institutional Series in New York City.

Objective: The aim of this study was to report the safety, efficacy, and early results of tracheostomy in patients with COVID-19 and determine whether differences exist between percutaneous and open methods.

Summary Background Data: Prolonged respiratory failure is common in symptomatic patients with COVID-19, the disease process caused by infection with the novel severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). Tracheostomy, although posing potential risk to the operative team and other healthcare workers, may be beneficial for safe weaning of sedation and ventilator support.

Genetic diversity of tumors with mismatch repair deficiency influences anti-PD-1 immunotherapy response.

Tumors with mismatch repair deficiency (MMR-d) are characterized by sequence alterations in microsatellites and can accumulate thousands of mutations. This high mutational burden renders tumors immunogenic and sensitive to programmed cell death-1 (PD-1) immune checkpoint inhibitors. Yet, despite their tumor immunogenicity, patients with MMR-deficient tumors experience highly variable responses, and roughly half are refractory to treatment.

Esophageal IgE, IgG4, and mucosal eosinophilia in individuals with dysphagia.

Background: Eosinophilic esophagitis (EoE) is an inflammatory disease of the esophagus, producing failure to thrive in infants and dysphagia with food impaction in older children and adults. Although most people with EoE manifest atopic/allergic disease, the specific allergens to which immunoglobulin E (IgE) is directed, if any, have not yet been characterized.

Methods: Mucosal brush biopsy (MBB) and solid tissue biopsy (STB) specimens were prospectively obtained from 25 individuals with dysphagia and suspicion of EoE.

Carcinoma presenting as idiopathic anterior glottic webs: A case series.

An anterior glottic web is an abnormal fusion of the anterior aspect of the membranous vocal folds. Noncongenital glottic webs are usually iatrogenic from intubation or laryngeal surgery. We present six adult patients whose initial in-office diagnoses were consistent with "idiopathic" benign anterior glottic webs as determined by three laryngologists (a.

Common Otologic Surgical Procedures: Clinical Decision-Making Pearls and the Role of Imaging.

Neuro-otologists rely on the expertise and judgment of a skilled neuroradiologist to identify radiographic abnormalities in the complicated regional anatomy of the temporal bone and middle and posterior fossa, and more importantly, to alert the surgeon to potential operative pitfalls. This article highlights some of the common otologic surgical procedures that stress this important dynamic. The surgical perspective on quick and effective clinical decision-making pearls to keep in mind during a thorough radiographic analysis of the ear and lateral skull base is presented.

Management of Vestibular Schwannomas for the Radiologist.

Vestibular schwannomas are the most common tumor of the cerebellopontine angle. The history of their management has driven advances in imaging, lateral skull base surgery, as well as radiosurgery. With these advances, a shift has occurred from life-saving treatment for late-stage disease to quality of life focused management of smaller tumors.

Revision Surgery for Otosclerosis.

This article is an overview of the care of patients requiring revision surgery for otosclerosis. Preoperative evaluation of the patient including surgical history, audiologic results, and physical findings is discussed, and the causes of failure of primary surgery are reviewed. A discussion of evidence-based surgical technique and postoperative care then follows.

A case of hypoglossal nerve stimulator-resistant obstructive sleep apnea cured with the addition of a chin strap.

A population of appropriately selected patients does not respond, or does not achieve cure, with hypoglossal nerve stimulation (HGNS). We describe the case of nonresponder whose obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) resolved with the addition of chin strap. After initial placement and titration of HGNS implant, follow-up sleep study demonstrated persistent moderate OSA.

Smoking, cessation, and cessation counseling in patients with cancer: A population-based analysis.

Background: Smoking is known to be carcinogenic and an important factor in the outcome of cancer treatment. However, to the authors' knowledge, smoking habits and smoking cessation counseling in patients with cancer have been poorly studied. The authors sought to analyze smoking habits among Americans diagnosed with cancer in a nationally representative dataset.