Nonmelanoma skin cancer of the head and neck II: surgical treatment and reconstruction.

Surgical treatment of non-melanoma skin cancers (NMSC) is most often straight forward and can be performed as an office-based procedure by non-surgically trained professionals. However, the cases that present to an Otolaryngology practice typically will involve difficult-to-treat lesions around the face and lesions that necessitate an in depth knowledge of how to balance the need for adequate surgical margins with the reconstructive contraints imposed by aesthetic subunits of the face. This article discusses modern concepts of surgical margins for NMSC, including the Moh's micrographic surgical technique, and then reviews the most common reconstructive strategies for difficult-to-treat areas on the face.

Nonmelanoma skin cancer of the head and neck I: histopathology and clinical behavior.

Non-Melanoma skin cancer (NMSC) is the most commonly encountered malignancy in almost every area of practice, but the cases that present to an Otolaryngology practice will be advanced in nature. The major subtypes of NMSC include basal cell carcinoma, squamous cell carcinoma, dermatofibrosarcoma protuberans, merkel cell carcinoma, and adnexal malignancies. In this review, we present the epidemiology, histology, clinical presentation and management of these major subtypes.

Intratympanic steroids for idiopathic sudden sensorineural hearing loss.

Objectives: We undertook to evaluate the effectiveness of intratympanic (IT) steroid injections for treating idiopathic sudden sensorineural hearing loss (ISSHL) by performing a retrospective case series study in a private otology practice.

Methods: A total of 21 eligible patients with ISSHL were included. We defined ISSHL as a hearing loss of 20 dB or more at at least 3 consecutive audiometric frequencies that develops within 72 hours or less and cannot be attributed to any commonly identifiable cause of sudden hearing loss.

Proteomics: a primer for otologists.

Objective: On July 9, 2003, the National Institutes of Health (NIH) released a new program announcement entitled "Proteomics in Auditory and Developmental Disease Processes." This initiative makes it clear that proteomic analysis in otology is a multi-year research priority for the NIH. The goal of this article is to describe the mechanics of modern proteomic techniques and review their applications in otology to date.

The new histologic classification of chronic rhinosinusitis.

Two histologic patterns of disease are found in chronic rhinosinusitis. The first is dominated by eosinophilia and polypoid changes. Glandular hyperplasia and hypertrophy characterize the second.

Surfactant in the middle ear and eustachian tube: a review.

There has been a recent surge in research on surfactant and surfactant proteins. Fields ranging from immunology to surface chemistry are making contributions to our understanding of this multifunctional compound. This paper reviews the literature on the structure and function of Eustachian tube surfactant.