Primary transoral robotic surgery +/- adjuvant therapy for oropharyngeal squamous cell carcinoma-A large observational single-centre series from the United Kingdom.

Objectives: To analyse the oncological outcomes following primary Transoral Robotic Surgery (TORS) for oropharyngeal squamous cell carcinoma (OPSCC).

Design: Observational case series.

Setting: Tertiary centre; first TORS practice to commence in the UK.

An unusual case of cavitating pulmonary nodules: Lemierre's syndrome with isolated involvement of the external jugular vein.

A 65-year-old female presented with symptoms of tonsillitis and sepsis. Despite initial treatment with i.v.

Face working memory deficits in developmental prosopagnosia: Tests of encoding limits and updating processes.

Developmental prosopagnosia (DP) is a condition in which individuals experience life-long problems recognising faces. In recent years, unpacking the nature of the impairments of this population has been the focus of numerous studies. One focus has been on the nature of face-based memory impairments for such individuals, with the onus being mainly on long-term memory deficits.

Provision of surgical voice restoration in England: questionnaire survey of speech and language therapists.

Aim: To conduct a questionnaire survey of speech and language therapists providing and managing surgical voice restoration in England.

Method: National Health Service Trusts registering more than 10 new laryngeal cancer patients during any one year, from November 2009 to October 2010, were identified, and a list of speech and language therapists compiled. A questionnaire was developed, peer reviewed and revised.

Does academic output correlate with better mortality rates in NHS trusts in England?

Objective: To establish whether there is an association between academic output and mortality rates for National Health Service (NHS) trusts.

Methods: Hospital standardized mortality ratios were obtained from Dr Foster hospital report cards. The Medline database of biomedical citations was queried to establish the number of citations credited to each NHS trust and constituent hospitals from 2006 to 2010.

Recurrence of food bolus impaction of the oesophagus: a retrospective observational study.

Background: Most cases of oesophageal food bolus impactions (FB) are one-off events, but recurrence is recognised. The aims of this study are to establish the recurrence rate of food bolus impaction and to identify features associated with recurrence.

Methods: Clinical records of all FB cases were reviewed and the following information was recorded (patient identifier, age, gender, dates of admission, history of oesophageal pathologies).

Validation of self-reported hearing loss using television volume.

Objective: To assess the diagnostic utility of using television volume as a marker for hearing loss.

Study Design: Prospective study using a self-administered questionnaire.

Setting: ENT and audiology out-patient departments in the north of England.

Implantable hearing aids.

The aim of this article is to give readers a general overview of the concepts involved in the latest generation of implantable hearing aids. A section on ear biomechanics has also been included to familiarize readers with the basic concepts involved. These devices have been developed over the last 20 years, driven by problems with conventional hearing aids and by advances in the understanding of middle-ear mechanics.

Pre-operative prediction of 'dry taps'.

Objectives: The treatment of children with 'glue ear' often presents surgeons with the question of whether or not to insert a grommet when myringotomy reveals no fluid in the middle ear. We present a study designed to assess which factors contribute to the presence of a 'dry tap'.

Design: We prospectively gathered data from a cohort of 280 children (504 myringotomies).

The management of simple snoring.

Simple snoring is a very common problem that presents a number of different challenges. The initial difficulty is in confirming the presence of snoring, next one must exclude any other nocturnal respiratory pathology and finally a decision as to an appropriate treatment must be made. There are many different ways of achieving these objectives, but no one-way has a clear advantage in terms of both accuracy and cost effectiveness.

Unusual complication of surgical voice restoration.

A case of oesophageal obstruction following the removal of a tracheoesophageal valve by division is presented. The obstruction was caused by impaction of a portion of the valve at a previously undiscovered benign oesophageal stricture. The obstruction was resolved by interventional radiology with no long-term sequelae.

Long-term follow-up of endoscopic stapled diverticulotomy.

We report a consecutive series of 31 patients who underwent endoscopic stapled diverticulotomy. The patients' notes were reviewed retrospectively to gather data on their original admission and a postal survey was conducted to establish patient satisfaction, their ability to swallow and re-operation data. Three patients were lost to follow-up.

Lacrimal gland abscess: an unusual complication of rhinosinusitis.

We report the case of a 72-year-old female suffering from mild myelodysplasia who initially presented with a peri-orbital cellulitis secondary to rhinosinusitis. The pre-septal infection failed to completely resolve despite intensive antibiotic therapy and endoscopic drainage of the sinuses. Computerised tomography revealed a complicating suppuration of the lacrimal gland.

Cochlear implantation of a patient with a previously undescribed mitochondrial DNA defect.

Mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) defects are responsible for symptom complexes that are characteristically heterogeneous but are typically represented by muscle weakness and neurological deficits. One common feature of mitochondrial disease is deafness. This report details the assessment and outcome of a patient with a previously undescribed mtDNA rearrangement who underwent cochlear implantation.