Malakoplakia of the parotid gland: a case report and review of localised malakoplakia of the head and neck.

Introduction: Malakoplakia is a rare chronic inflammatory disorder, predominantly affecting the urinary tract. In the head and neck region, it is very rare and may confuse the clinicians during investigations, as features may mimic malignancy.

Materials And Methods: We report a case of malakoplakia involving the parotid gland and review of the reported cases of malakoplakia in head and neck region.

Long-term results of endonasal dacryocystorhinostomy with and without stenting.

Introduction: This study aimed to evaluate the short and long-term results of endoscopic dacryocystorhinostomy (DCR) with and without silicone stenting in chronic dacrocystorhinitis due to postsaccal blockage.

Methods: The study involved a case series of consecutive 89 patients (128 eyes) who underwent endoscopic DCR. All patients were operated on by the senior author.

Fixation of the anterior mallear ligament: diagnosis and consequences for hearing results in stapes surgery.

In the search for possible causes of unfavorable results after stapes surgery, the study reported here focused on the anterior mallear ligament, since it has been previously reported that partial mallear fixation (PMF) leads to functional failure in 38% of cases of stapes revision surgery. The aims of the study were to identify effective methods for the diagnosis of PMF and experimentally assess the conductive hearing loss that results from PMF. The study included vibration amplitude measurements of the ossicles by laser Doppler interferometry (LDI) in 19 patients and 5 fresh human temporal bone (TB) specimens.

The anterior and superior malleal ligaments in otosclerosis: a histopathologic observation.

Hypothesis: The aim of this study was to assess, in otosclerosis, whether the anterior and superior malleal ligaments show histologic changes that can lead to reduced malleal mobility and eventual fixation, and also to evaluate whether these changes are related to the degree of histologic otosclerosis.

Background: Fixation of the malleus seems to be one of the most controversial clinical entities in the acquired condition of otosclerosis. It has even been postulated that persistent conductive deafness, or progression of conductive deafness after initial improvement after stapedotomy, could be due to unsuspected malleus fixation.

A modified spacer device for inhalational drug therapy for chronic bronchitis/asthma in laryngectomised patients.

Following total laryngectomy, patients who need to continue their inhalational drug therapy for chronic pulmonary conditions experience a great deal of difficulty in administering the drugs. We describe a new spacer device to deliver inhalational drug therapy to laryngectomized patients which is simple to use and does not interfere with the patient's life style. The device involves a standard metered dose inhaler, a paediatric face mask and a small volume spacer.

Isolated congenital stapes suprastructure fixation.

Isolated congenital anomalies of the ossicles are rare. The majority of cases of congenital conductive hearing loss secondary to middle-ear anomalies have other associated defects, such as atresia, microtia and craniofacial deformities. We present a rare case of isolated congenital stapes suprastructure fixation, where a monocrural stapes with a mobile footplate was attached to the promontory by bony synostosis.

Isolated congenital stapes ankylosis: an embryologic survey and literature review.

Objective: Isolated congenital stapes ankylosis is rare but is a definite entity. Both small series and case reports have been published in various languages. The aim of this study was to review the world literature regarding isolated congenital stapes ankylosis and to critically evaluate the embryonic development of the stapes to explain the possible pathologic development of this ankylosis.

Does adenotonsillectomy cure hypoxaemia in children with sleep apnoea and congenital cardiac pathology?

Introduction: Adenotonsillectomy usually cures obstructive sleep apnoea in otherwise healthy children. When children, with congenital cardiac pathology, suffer sleep hypoxaemia following their corrective cardiac surgery, they are referred to an otolaryngologist for adenotonsillectomy. Hardly any studies have been published to show how effective this operation is for these children.

Manipulation of the fractured nose: a comparison of local infiltration anaesthesia and topical local anaesthesia.

Reduction of simple nasal fractures under local anaesthetic is now an accepted practice. The anaesthetic is usually administered using an external percutaneous approach, coupled with topical intranasal cocaine. Topical local anaesthetic with intranasal cocaine is an alternative method.

An unusual case of stridor due to osteophytes of the cervical spine: (Forestier's disease).

Stridor is a noisy breathing caused by compromised airway in the larynx and trachea. The causes can either be due to intrinsic or extrinsic compression. Stridor resulting from extrinsic compression due to anterior cervical osteophytes is rare.

Mucosal melanoma of the head and neck.

Two hundred and fifty-nine patients with mucosal melanoma of the head and neck were reviewed. The data of these patients were obtained from the records of the Department of Head and Neck Oncology at the University of Liverpool and from the Merseyside and Cheshire Cancer Registry. Survival curves were constructed using the life table method and differences were investigated by the Log Rank Test.

Localized amyloidosis of the parotid gland: a case report and review of the localized amyloidosis of the head and neck.

Background: Localized amyloidosis in the head and neck is a rare and benign process.

Methods: We present the first case report in the literature of localized amyloidosis of the parotid glands and also comprehensively review the literature regarding localized amyloidosis of the head and neck.

Results: Amyloidosis affecting the head and neck region is uncommon and is mostly in the form of localized amyloidosis.

Aspiration pneumonia in a mentally handicapped patient due to a foreign body impacted in the pharynx: a near fatal outcome.

A case is reported of a mentally handicapped women with dysphagia caused by a foreign body impacted in the pharynx. The case illustrates a potential pitfall in the management of patients who are unable to communicate either verbally or in writing and who present with acute dysphagia.

Beta-2-transferrin and cerebrospinal fluid rhinorrhoea.

Beta-2-transferrin is a protein produced by neuraminidase activity in the brain which is uniquely found in the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) and perilymph. Its absence in other body secretions makes its detection invaluable in diagnosing a CSF leak. In this series samples were analysed from 25 patients with suspected CSF rhinorrhoea.

Malignant tumours of the cervical oesophagus.

Forty-seven patients with malignancy of the cervical oesophagus are described and compared with a group of 647 patients with hypopharyngeal malignancy. There was a higher proportion of non-squamous malignancy in cervical oesophageal cancer compared with hypopharyngeal cancer. Cervical oesophageal malignancy tended to present earlier with significantly lower T stage and neck node metastases were relatively unusual at presentation.

Objective measurement of the benefit of walking sticks in peripheral vestibular balance disorders, using the Sway Weigh balance platform.

Following a lesion in the vestibular system visual, proprioceptive and residual vestibular information is integrated by the brain, to enable a patient to attain equilibrium. The basis of vestibular rehabilitation is to encourage these adaptive and compensatory mechanisms. Another form of rehabilitation is to provide some form of mechanical aid, and walking sticks are often used for this purpose in patients with balance disorders.

Mucosal-strip/uvulectomy by the CO2 laser as a method of treating simple snoring.

The effect of stiffening the soft palate by inducing scarring after removing a central strip of mucosa with a CO2 laser was investigated in 25 heavy snorers. The results were assessed using a series of Visual Analogue Score (VAS) assessment questionnaires completed by the partner over a period of 6 months. Of the 22 patients who had the laser-strip and uvulectomy, snoring improved in 18 (82%) (median improvement of 75% at 3 months).

A study of alpha-amylase activity in tracheobronchial secretions of seriously ill patients with tracheostomies.

This study was undertaken to assess any salivary aspiration in seriously ill patients with tracheostomies in an Intensive Care Unit setting. The alpha-amylase activity in the tracheostomies in an Intensive Care Unit setting. The alpha-amylase activity in the tracheobronchial secretions of 15 such patients were analysed to evaluate the incidence of salivary aspiration.

Amylase activity in tracheobronchial secretions of laryngectomized patients.

The alpha-amylase activity in tracheobronchial secretions of 16 consecutive patients with a total laryngectomy was studied. None of these patients had a tracheopharyngeal fistula or pulmonary disorder which might affect the amylase activity. This study proves the presence of amylase in tracheobronchial secretions of laryngectomized patients with a normal lung at a level between x and y and the quantitative analysis of the amylase activity is discussed.

Acute airway obstruction due to ruptured aneurysmal arterio-venous fistula: common carotid artery to internal jugular vein.

Fistulae between major vessels in the head and neck are uncommon. In both civilian and wartime reports, the total number of traumatic arterio-venous fistulae in head and neck region account for less than four per cent of all arterial injuries. Fourteen cases of congenital communication between the external carotid artery and external or internal jugular vein have been reported.

Tonsillar fossa obliteration and post-operative pain.

Fifty consecutive patients over the age of 15 years undergoing tonsillectomy had one tonsillar fossa obliterated by 2/0 Polydioxanone (PDS II) suture. The opposite side was used as a control. Pain was assessed on a visual analogue scale from the first to tenth post-operative day.

Removal of nasal foreign bodies with a Fogarty biliary balloon catheter.

Twenty-five children with a range of nasal foreign bodies, which were not easily amenable to anterior instrumental extraction, were considered for this study. These foreign bodies were removed by the use of a Fogarty biliary balloon catheter (Intimax) successfully in 23 children. In two children no foreign body was found.