Advanced stage of head and neck cancer at a tertiary-care county hospital.

Background: Public hospitals provide health care for uninsured and medically underserved patients in large metropolitan areas. Outcomes for head and neck cancer patients within this population are perceived as being worse than outcomes for the general population, perhaps because of advanced stage at presentation.

Objective: This study assesses the initial cancer stage in patients with head and neck carcinoma presenting to an urban tertiary-care county hospital compared with data for the general population.

Primary chordoma of the lateral nasal wall: case report and review.

Chordomas are malignant, nonepithelial neoplasms derived from notochordal tissue. A primary chordoma of the nasal cavities and paranasal sinuses is extremely rare compared with clival chordomas, which often present as nasal masses after spreading anteriorly. Only a few cases of primary chordoma of the nasal cavities and paranasal sinuses have been reported in the literature.

Medicolegal analysis of injury during endoscopic sinus surgery.

Objectives: To survey the causes, characteristics, and outcomes of malpractice litigation resulting from injuries sustained during endoscopic sinus surgery (ESS).

Study Design: A retrospective analysis of United States state and federal civil litigation involving injuries resulting from ESS.

Methods: Sources were state and federal court decisions and jury verdict reports accessed through a computerized legal database.

The incidence of facial nerve dehiscence at surgery for cholesteatoma.

Objective: Facial paralysis can occur after surgery for cholesteatoma. The risk of facial nerve injury is great when the nerve is not covered by its normal bony Fallopian canal. The objective of this study was to identify the incidence of facial nerve dehiscence in patients undergoing surgery for cholesteatoma.