Use of PerClot in head and neck surgery: a Scottish centre experience.

Objective: PerClot is a biocompatible, polysaccharide haemostatic system recommended for surgical procedures. It is an absorbable modified polymer that is non-pyrogenic and is derived from purified plant starch. Our goal was to evaluate the safety, efficacy and usefulness of PerClot in head and neck surgery (H&N) in our department.

Laryngeal Fracture Caused by a Lacrosse Ball.

Neck injuries in lacrosse are rare and mostly involve the musculoskeletal system. The lacrosse ball is a solid rubber ball of approximately 20 cm in diameter and the fastest shot recorded in professional lacrosse is over 100 mph. Despite wearing full protection, the neck remains prone to blunt trauma by this ball.

Septoplasty with concomitant inferior turbinate reduction reduces the need for revision procedure.

Objective: Septoplasty is an accepted and common surgical intervention to improve the nasal airway. However, the role of concomitant surgery on the inferior turbinate remains debated. This study aims to investigate if the inferior turbinate surgery at the time of septoplasty would impact on the likelihood of revision nasal surgery - septoplasty or septorhinoplasty.

Pharmacological and other interventions for head and neck cancer pain: a systematic review.

Objectives: Pain is a common complication in head and neck cancer. The aim of this paper is to evaluate the evidence from randomised control trials investigating pharmacological and non-pharmacological methods of pain management in head and neck cancer.

Material And Methods: Medline, Embase and the Cochrane library databases were searched.

Forgotten T-tube in the middle ear.

Retention within the middle ear cleft is an unusual complication of T-tube insertion. A 40-year-old woman with Kartagener's Syndrome presented with hearing impairment in the right ear. She was found to have a previously inserted Goode T-tube lying within the middle ear behind an intact drum.

Head and neck cancer pain: systematic review of prevalence and associated factors.

Objectives: Pain is a major symptom in patients with cancer; however information on head and neck cancer related pain is limited. The aim of this review was to investigate the prevalence of pain and associated factors among patients with HNC.

Material And Methods: The systematic review used search of MEDLINE, EMBASE and CINAHL databases to December 2011.

Intraoperative dexamethasone and the risk of secondary posttonsillectomy hemorrhage.

Objective: to determine whether intraoperative dexamethasone is a risk factor for secondary posttonsillectomy bleeding.

Design: retrospective chart review.

Setting: tertiary care referral centres in Scotland.

The use of complementary and alternative medicine by patients attending a general otolaryngology clinic: can we afford to ignore it?

Background: There is growing interest in use of complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) among the general population. Little information is available, however, on CAM use in adults attending an otolaryngology outpatient clinic in the UK.

Objective: The purpose of this article is to study the prevalence and pattern of CAM use among adult patients attending the ear, nose, and throat (ENT) clinic in a UK teaching hospital.

Complementary and alternative medicine use by otolaryngology patients: a paradigm for practitioners in all surgical specialties.

There is growing interest in complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) amongst the general population. Little information is available on CAM use in otolaryngology patients in the UK. Despite concerns over safety, efficacy and cost-effectiveness, CAM use is common amongst ENT patients.

Complementary and alternative medicine use among patients undergoing otolaryngologic surgery.

Objective: The use of complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) may influence surgical care by inducing coagulopathies and interacting with other medication. We investigated the prevalence and pattern of CAM use in patients admitted to our department for elective otolaryngologic surgery.

Design: Cross-sectional survey.

Controlling MRSA in head and neck cancer patients: what works?

Objective: We aimed to determine any beneficial effect from targeted surveillance, cohort nursing, and restricted health care worker access in controlling MRSA infection in patients undergoing surgery for head and neck cancer.

Study Design: Historical cohort study.

Subjects And Methods: In phase 1 data were gathered on MRSA-positive cases admitted from February 1, 2006 to February 28, 2007.

A review of nasal polyposis.

Nasal polyps are common, affecting up to four percent of the population. Their etiology remains unclear, but they are known to have associations with allergy, asthma, infection, cystic fibrosis, and aspirin sensitivity. They present with nasal obstruction, anosmia, rhinorrhoea, post nasal drip, and less commonly facial pain.

Malignant peripheral nerve sheath tumor of the paranasal sinuses.

Malignant peripheral nerve sheath tumors of the nose and paranasal sinuses are extremely uncommon. We report the case of a 65-year-old woman who presented with a rapid emergence of "nasal polyps" that completely obstructed her nasal passages. Six years earlier she had been assessed elsewhere for nasal polyps.