Electrochemotherapy as adjuvant treatment in a sinonasal mucosal melanoma in elderly patient: a case report.

Background: Sinonasal Mucosal Melanoma (SNMM) is a rare but aggressive disease. Surgery with free margins, when feasible, is the treatment of choice. In the last three decades, electrochemotherapy (ECT) has emerged as a local ablative procedure, performed with the Cliniporator, for cutaneous and mucosal tumours of different histology.

Seborrheic Keratosis or Squamous Carcinoma? Clinical Examination versus Biopsy: The Importance of Criticism.

We compare the results of clinical observation and histopathology analysis for developing a differential diagnosis of seborrheic keratosis (SK) of the external auditory canal (EAC). A 46-year-old man with a history of a recurrent lesion in the EAC underwent clinical observation of the skin lesion's appearance, computed tomography (CT) scan, magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), and several biopsies. Initially, a benign form of SK was diagnosed based on several biopsies performed over a 10-year period.

The watch-pat in pediatrics sleep disordered breathing: Pilot study on children with negative nocturnal pulse oximetry.

Objectives: The main purpose of this study was to determine the efficacy of Watch-PAT in Pediatric Sleep Disordered Breathing (PSDB) diagnosis in children with symptoms suggestive of PSDB, in which the nocturnal pulse oximetry was negative according to the Brouilette criteria.

Methods: We enrolled 28 patients aged between 5 and 12 years (mean age: 7.75 ± 1.

Mastoidectomy dimensions for direct acoustic cochlear implantation: a human cadaveric temporal bone study.

The objective of the present paper was to acquire information about the mastoidectomy size necessary to obtain an optimal placement of the direct acoustic cochlear implant actuator and fixation system. Ten human cadaveric temporal bones were dissected and implanted with direct acoustic cochlear implant. Mastoidectomy size was determined after implantation in each temporal bone.

Endolymphatic sac surgery versus tenotomy of the stapedius and tensor tympani muscles in the management of patients with unilateral definite Meniere's disease.

This study aims to compare the outcomes of patients with Meniere's disease submitted to either endolymphatic mastoid shunt (ES) or tenotomy of the stapedius and tensor tympani muscles (TSTM). This is a retrospective chart review of patients treated with ES or TSTM between 2000 and 2010 and followed up for at least 12 months. The main outcomes were represented by: (1) vertigo class, hearing stage and functional level according to the American Academy of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery criteria; (2) adjustment of dizziness handicap inventory (DHI) and (3) complete and substantial vertigo control using the Kaplan-Meier survival method.

A rare case of endolymphatic sac tumour: clinicopathologic study and surgical management.

Objective. Endolymphatic sac tumor (ELST) is a rare neoplasm arising from the intrapetrous portion of the endolymphatic sac, either isolated or in association with the von Hippel-Lindau disease. We report a sporadic case of ELST with an overview of the literature and a discussion of clinic-radiological, histopathologic, and surgical findings.

Predictors of hearing preservation in the management of labyrinthine fistulas positioned on the semicircular canals.

Objectives: We sought to identify factors that would predict hearing preservation in the treatment of semicircular canal labyrinthine fistulas.

Methods: Between 1990 and 2010, 97 patients with semicircular canal fistulas were operated on and enrolled in this retrospective study. In 62 patients the matrix was removed and the fistula was sealed, whereas in 35 patients the canal was drilled, the matrix was detached, and the canal was occluded.

Usefulness of cortical mastoidectomy in myringoplasty.

Objectives: The usefulness of cortical mastoidectomy in myringoplasty remains an issue of controversy. We aimed to assess the effectiveness of mastoidectomy on outcomes of tympanoplasty performed in patients with persistent or intermittent discharging chronic suppurative otitis media without cholesteatoma.

Study Design: Prospective, randomized, single-blinded study.

Intratympanic steroid treatment for idiopathic sudden sensorineural hearing loss after failure of intravenous therapy.

Purpose. The aim of this study is the investigation of the effectiveness of intratympanic steroids therapy (IST) in patients with idiopathic sudden sensorineural hearing loss (ISSHL) who had not responded to intravenous treatment, evaluating the overall hearing recovery and comparing the results with different variables. Materials and Methods.

The heat-activated stapes prosthesis 'SMart' Piston: technique and preliminary results.

Since 2003 we are using in our stapedotomies the Nitinol 'Smart' Piston. This prosthesis has a Teflon 'vestibular' end and a wire shaft made by Nitinol, with a heat activated self-crimping loop. Nitinol is an alloy of Nickel + Titanium, belonging to the class of the so-called smart materials, i.