Transpalatal advancement pharyngoplasty for obstructive sleep apnea syndrome: results and analysis of failures.

Objective: To assess the polysomnographic outcomes of patients with obstructive sleep apnea undergoing transpalatal advancement pharyngoplasty for retropalatal collapse and to compare responders with nonresponders to surgery.

Design: Retrospective medical record review.

Setting: Tertiary referral teaching hospital and private practice.

The "Propeller" incision for transpalatal advancement pharyngoplasty: a new approach to reduce post-operative oronasal fistulae.

Objective: To present a new soft tissue approach for transpalatal advancement pharyngoplasty (TPA), the propeller incision, and to compare the rates of post-operative oronasal fistula in those undergoing TPA with the traditional "Gothic Arch" incision described by Woodson and those with the propeller incision.

Methods: A prospectively maintained adult sleep apnoea surgery database was used to identify those patients undergoing TPA, either alone or in combination with other procedures, for obstructive sleep apnoea syndrome (OSAS) between February 2001 and September 2006 in a tertiary referral centre by a single surgeon (RHL). In addition to the incision used during TPA, patient demographic data, previous surgery of the upper airways, smoking history, pre-operative body mass index, respiratory disturbance index, oxygen saturation index and the occurrence of oronasal fistula post-operatively, were recorded.

Digital spectral analysis of the drill-bone acoustic interface during temporal bone dissection: a qualitative cadaveric pilot study.

Hypothesis: To qualitatively assess the different acoustic signatures of an otologic drill burr-bone interface during temporal bone dissection on full thickness calvarial and thin tegmen bone.

Background: An appreciable change in the sound generated by drilling occurs with progressive thinning of the bone during temporal bone dissection. To date, descriptions of this phenomenon are limited to a handful of subjective characterizations.

Obstructive sleep apnea, morbid obesity, and adenotonsillar surgery: a review of the literature.

Obstructive sleep apnea syndrome is a common occurrence in the obese pediatric population. As this subgroup is rapidly expanding, these children will be increasingly encountered by the otolaryngologist in practice. The literature regarding the etiology, pathogenesis, diagnosis and surgical treatment of obstructive sleep apnea in morbidly obese children is reviewed and pertinent data presented.

Cervicofacial emphysema and pneumomediastinum following pediatric adenotonsillectomy: a rare complication.

Cervicofacial emphysema and pneumomediastinum are rarely observed sequelae of surgical intervention in the upper aerodigestive tract. It is a potentially life-threatening condition but the majority of cases are self-limiting and benign. Symptoms include chest pain, neck pain, dyspnea and odynophagia.