Efficacy of expansion pharyngoplasty and hypoglossal nerve stimulation in treating sleep apnea.

Objective: We investigated whether a palatal conversion procedure combined with a second-stage hypoglossal nerve stimulator (HGNS) insertion can be beneficial for those patients who have a complete concentric velopharyngeal collapse and may initially not meet the criteria for use of HGNS.

Methods: A retrospective chart review included all patients who underwent a planned multi-level sleep surgery including expansion sphincter pharyngoplasty (ESP) followed by HGNS. All patients had a complete concentric collapse (CCC) of the velopharynx (VP) on pre-intervention drug-induced sleep endoscopy (DISE) and were initially not a candidate for HGNS.

Pectoralis Major Onlay vs Interpositional Reconstruction Fistulation After Salvage Total Laryngectomy: Systematic Review and Meta-analysis.

Objective: To evaluate the difference in pharygocutaneous fistula (PCF) development between pectoralis major flap onlay and interpositional reconstructions after salvage total laryngectomy (STL).

Data Sources: Medline, Cochrane, Embase, Web of Science, CINAHL, and ClinicalTrials.gov.

KTP Laser Treatment of Early Glottic Cancer: A Multi-Institutional Retrospective Study.

Objectives: The primary objectives were to report oncologic outcomes of transoral laser microsurgery with potassium-titanyl-phosphate (KTP) laser (TLM-KTP) ablation of early glottic cancer (EGC). The secondary objectives were to report vocal outcomes and to analyze factors that might influence outcomes.

Methods: A multi-institutional, retrospective analysis of consecutive patients treated for T1 or T2 glottic squamous cell carcinoma undergoing TLM-KTP ablation with at least 2 years of follow-up was performed.

Scaffold-free tissue-engineered cartilage implants for laryngotracheal reconstruction.

Objectives/hypothesis: Donor site morbidity, including pneumothorax, can be a considerable problem when harvesting cartilage grafts for laryngotracheal reconstruction (LTR). Tissue engineered cartilage may offer a solution to this problem. This study investigated the feasibility of using autologous chondrocytes to tissue-engineer scaffold-free cartilage grafts for LTR in rabbits to avoid degradation that often arises from an inflammatory reaction to scaffold carrier matrix.