Aberrant position of nonrecurrent inferior laryngeal nerve: Report of 3 cases and a review of the literature.

The presence of a nonrecurrent inferior laryngeal nerve (NRILN) is a significant risk factor for nerve injury during thyroid, parathyroid, and vascular surgeries involving the paratracheal area of the head and neck. The objective of this report is to review the association between an aberrant right subclavian artery (SCA) identified on preoperative imaging and an NRILN identified intraoperatively during thyroid and parathyroid surgery. We reviewed 3 selected cases in which we preoperatively identified an aberrant right SCA and determined the intraoperative position of the inferior laryngeal nerve on the right.

The joint facial and invasive neck trauma (J-FAINT) project, Iraq and Afghanistan 2003-2011.

Objective: Define the number and type of facial and penetrating neck trauma injuries sustained in Operation Iraqi Freedom (OIF) and Operation Enduring Freedom (OEF).

Study Design: Retrospective database study.

Setting: Tertiary care level I trauma center.

Massive facial trauma following improvised explosive device blasts in Operation Iraqi Freedom.

Objective: To investigate the association of massive facial trauma with brain and eye injuries, injury severity scores, and blood transfusion utilization.

Study Design: Retrospective study.

Setting: Air Force Theater Hospital, Balad, Iraq.

Coblation lesion formation in a porcine tongue model.

Objective: To investigate, in a porcine tongue model, the lesions created by coblation to define the optimal application of this method in treating the enlarged tongue base in patients with obstructive sleep apnea syndrome.

Study Design: A prospective, experimental animal study.

Setting: Military medical center.

Facial trauma in Operation Iraqi Freedom casualties: an outcomes study of patients treated from April 2006 through October 2006.

This study investigates the postoperative complication rate in American military members treated for fractures of the facial skeleton with either immediate fixation in the Operation Iraqi Freedom combat theater or delayed fixation after transport out of the combat theater. Based on an army head and neck surgeon's case log, retrospective chart review was performed on 21 American active-duty patients evaluated for facial fractures in Balad, Iraq, between April 16, 2006, and October 30, 2006. Follow-up standardized patient interviews and review of electronic medical records were conducted to assess the postoperative clinical course and identify postoperative complications.

Mass casualty response of a modern deployed head and neck surgical team.

Background: The battlefields of the Global War on Terror have created unique demands on deployed surgical teams. Modern high-energy fragmentation devices often inflict complex head and neck injuries. This series analyzes the role of the head and neck surgical team during 3 separate single explosive events that led to civilian multiple casualty incidents (MCIs) treated at a military theater hospital in Iraq from February to April 2007.

Anatomical dissection and modified Sihler stain of the lower branches of the facial nerve.

Background: The cervical branch of the facial nerve and the muscles it supplies play a role in perioral function and neck aesthetics. Paralysis of the cervical branch in some patients may result in lip depressor deficiency and an asymmetric smile. It is unclear whether this is the result of platysmal weakness alone, or attributable to coinnervation of the lip depressor muscles by the cervical and marginal mandibular branches of the facial nerve.

A surprising twist to an old problem: sigmoid volvulus in a 19-year-old man.

Sigmoid volvulus classically presents in the seventh or eighth decade, therefore, diagnosis of sigmoid volvulus in an adolescent may be delayed or missed. This life-threatening diagnosis should be considered in young patients presenting with abdominal pain, nausea, vomiting, and constipation. Intraoperative findings in a 19-year-old man with a sigmoid volvulus highlight the importance of considering further studies, such as an abdominal CT scan, which goes beyond the typical obstruction evaluation in the adolescent patient.