Landscape of innate lymphoid cells in human head and neck cancer reveals divergent NK cell states in the tumor microenvironment.

Natural killer (NK) cells comprise one subset of the innate lymphoid cell (ILC) family. Despite reported antitumor functions of NK cells, their tangible contribution to tumor control in humans remains controversial. This is due to incomplete understanding of the NK cell states within the tumor microenvironment (TME).

The Future of Telemedicine: Revolutionizing Health Care or Flash in the Pan?

The meteoric rise of telemedicine early in the COVID-19 pandemic might easily be mistaken for an ephemeral trend-one reaching its zenith in a moment of crisis. To the contrary, momentum has been mounting for telehealth over decades. The recent increase in telecare reveals its potential to deliver efficient, patient-centered, high-quality care in an increasingly technology-dependent landscape.

Tracheostomy During the COVID-19 Pandemic: Comparison of International Perioperative Care Protocols and Practices in 26 Countries.

Objective: The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has led to a global surge in critically ill patients requiring invasive mechanical ventilation, some of whom may benefit from tracheostomy. Decisions on if, when, and how to perform tracheostomy in patients with COVID-19 have major implications for patients, clinicians, and hospitals. We investigated the tracheostomy protocols and practices that institutions around the world have put into place in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Utility of videolaryngoscopy for diagnostic and therapeutic interventions in head and neck surgery.

Background: Videolaryngoscopy is commonly used by anesthesiologists to manage difficult airways. Recently otolaryngologists have reported use in select procedures; to date there is limited evaluation in head and neck surgery.

Materials And Methods: Patients who underwent direct laryngoscopy (DL) with use of GlideScope videolaryngoscopy (GVL) were retrospectively identified from a tertiary care Veterans Affairs hospital.

Radiographic surveillance of abdominal free fat graft in complex parotid pleomorphic adenomas: A case series.

Background: Free abdominal fat transfer is commonly used to restore facial volume and improve cosmesis after parotidectomy for pleomorphic adenomas. We describe the radiographic characteristics of these grafts on follow-up imaging.

Methods: Medical records of four patients who underwent parotidectomy with abdominal fat graft in 2016 and had follow up imaging available were retrospectively analyzed.

Lymph Node Count From Neck Dissection Predicts Mortality in Head and Neck Cancer.

Purpose Multiple smaller studies have demonstrated an association between overall survival and lymph node (LN) count from neck dissection in patients with head and neck cancer. This is a large cohort study to examine these associations by using a national cancer database. Patients and Methods The National Cancer Database was used to identify patients who underwent upfront nodal dissection for mucosal head and neck squamous cell carcinoma between 2004 and 2013.

Contemporary mandibular reconstruction.

Purpose Of Review: Multiple disease processes, including neoplasia, trauma, and medication side-effects, necessitate segmental resection and subsequent reconstruction of the mandible. As surgical techniques have advanced, several technologies have been developed with the potential to significantly transform a surgeon's approach to the restoration of mandibular continuity. The purpose of this review is to highlight many of these relatively newer tools and discuss their evolving role in mandibular reconstruction.

Consultation via telemedicine and access to operative care for patients with head and neck cancer in a Veterans Health Administration population.

Background: The purpose of this study was to evaluate a telemedicine model that utilizes an audiovisual teleconference as a preoperative visit.

Methods: Veterans Health Administration (VHA) patients with head and neck cancer at 2 remote locations were provided access to the Palo Alto Veterans Affairs (PAVA) Health Care System otolaryngology department via the telemedicine protocol: tissue diagnosis and imaging at the patient site; data review at PAVA; and a preoperative teleconference connecting the patient to PAVA. Operative care occurred at PAVA.

Anterolateral approach to the upper cervical spine: Case report and operative technique.

Background: Transcervical approaches to the upper cervical spine are challenging because several upper anterior neurovascular structures need to be displaced to provide access. Although various techniques have been described, the anterolateral approach is one of the safest and most effective methods available to access the anterior C2-C3 disc space. Despite the approach's efficacy, however, it can cause postoperative complications because of, at least partly, the inter-surgeon differences in the methods by which the larynx and hypopharynx are displaced medially.

Marker retention in the cochlea following injections through the round window membrane.

Local delivery of drugs to the inner ear is increasingly being used in both clinical and experimental studies. Although direct injection of drugs into perilymph appears to be the most promising way of administering drugs quantitatively, no studies have yet demonstrated the pharmacokinetics in perilymph following direct injections. In this study, we have investigated the retention of substance in perilymph following a single injection into the basal turn of scala tympani (ST).

The influence of transducer operating point on distortion generation in the cochlea.

Distortion generated by the cochlea can provide a valuable indicator of its functional state. In the present study, the dependence of distortion on the operating point of the cochlear transducer and its relevance to endolymph volume disturbances has been investigated. Calculations have suggested that as the operating point moves away from zero, second harmonic distortion would increase.