The Impact of Surgical Expertise on the Cost-Effectiveness of Stapes Surgery.

Introduction: Otosclerosis is the primary cause of conductive hearing loss with normal otoscopy. As the condition worsens, certain patients may develop a sensorineural component. Patients with successful surgeries may still need hearing aids, which creates a dilemma for health professionals as there are insufficient data to make informed decisions.

Cost-Effectiveness of Septorhinoplasty.

Septorhinoplasties are performed for functional, aesthetic, or a combination of these indications. As a nonvital intervention, cost-effectiveness may be questioned. To determine the cost-effectiveness of septorhinoplasty.

Cost Effectiveness of Cochlear Implantation in Single-Sided Deafness.

Objective: To analyze the cost effectiveness of cochlear implantation (CI) for the treatment of single-sided deafness (SSD).

Study Design: Cost-utility analysis in an adapted Markov model.

Setting: Adults with single-sided deafness in a high-income country.

Age Dependent Cost-Effectiveness of Cochlear Implantation in Adults. Is There an Age Related Cut-off?

Objective: To analyze the impact of age at implantation on the cost-effectiveness of cochlear implantation (CI).

Study Design: Cost-utility analysis in an adapted Markov model.

Setting: Adults with profound postlingual hearing loss in a "high income" country.

The Role of Non-Echoplanar Diffusion-Weighted Magnetic Resonance Imaging in Diagnosis of Primary Cholesteatoma and Cholesteatoma Recidivism as an Adjunct to Clinical Evaluation.

Introduction:: The aim of this study was to analyze the sensitivity and specificity of non-echoplanar (non-EPI) diffusion-weighted (DW) magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) for the detection of cholesteatoma, with a focus on its value as an adjunct to clinical examination.

Methods:: In a prospective cohort study, 92 cases were divided into 2 groups: "clinically cholesteatoma" ( n = 79) and "clinically no cholesteatoma" ( n = 13). Non-EPI DW MRI was performed preoperatively in all cases.

Early Timing of Thyroidectomy for Hyperthyroidism in Graves' Disease Improves Biochemical Recovery.

Background: The role of thyroidectomy as an early treatment for hyperthyroidism has been poorly investigated. Our aim was to examine its success rates, particularly focusing on thyroidectomy as an early treatment.

Methods: Patients with thyroidectomy for hyperthyroidism between February 2008 and October 2014 were included.

Delayed diagnosis of sinonasal lymphoma due to bilateral manifestation.

The objective of this study is to analyze the presenting symptoms, the time to correct diagnosis and outcome of a European patient cohort with sinonasal lymphoma focusing on unilateral vs. bilateral sinonasal involvement. In a retrospective setting in a European tertiary referral center, eleven patients (9 males, 2 females) with sinonasal lymphoma diagnosed between 2002 and 2015 were identified and divided into a unilateral and bilateral group according to their CT finding.

Ballistic Reconstruction of a Migrating Bullet in the Parapharyngeal Space.

A 21-year-old male suffering from severe throat pain after being hit by a bullet in Syria claimed that he was shot through his eye and that the bullet subsequently descended behind his throat. Even though the first medical report stated that this course is implausible, meticulous workup provided evidence that the bullet might have entered the parapharyngeal space in a more cranial position than the one it was found eight months later. Our case highlights that bullets are able to move within the body, rendering ballistic reconstruction difficult.

Perineural Invasion in Squamous Cell Carcinoma of the Oral Cavity: Histology, Tumor Stage, and Outcome.

Objectives/hypothesis: To analyze the impact of different types of perineural invasion (PNI) in squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) of the oral cavity on overall survival and recurrence rate, with a special focus on histologic subtypes and tumor stage.

Study Design: Retrospective case-control study with clinicopathological analysis.

Methods: Seventeen patients who received primary surgical treatment for SCC of the oral cavity with PNI were matched to a control group.

Sound localization measured by eye-tracking.

Objective: To introduce a new method of measuring sound localization ability based on eye-tracking and to test this method by analysing the influence of mild induced conductive hearing loss on sound localization.

Design: Sound signals were presented from different angles, and the participant's responses were measured using an eye-tracking device. For validation, a comparison of responses to visual stimuli was performed.

Functional Results and Subjective Benefit of a Transcutaneous Bone Conduction Device in Patients With Single-Sided Deafness.

Objective: To analyze speech discrimination scores and subjective benefit of a transcutaneous bone conduction device (tBCD) in adults with single-sided deafness (SSD).

Study Design: Prospective cohort study.

Setting: Tertiary referral center.

Identification and characterization of mouse otic sensory lineage genes.

Vertebrate embryogenesis gives rise to all cell types of an organism through the development of many unique lineages derived from the three primordial germ layers. The otic sensory lineage arises from the otic vesicle, a structure formed through invagination of placodal non-neural ectoderm. This developmental lineage possesses unique differentiation potential, giving rise to otic sensory cell populations including hair cells, supporting cells, and ganglion neurons of the auditory and vestibular organs.

Detection of Helicobacter pylori in patients with head and neck cancer: Results from a prospective comparative study combining serology, polymerase chain reaction, and rapid urease test.

Background: The purpose of this study was to evaluate prospectively the presence and impact of the gastric carcinogen Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori) in the upper aerodigestive tract. Previous studies suggested it could represent a risk factor for head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC).

Reconstruction of the mouse otocyst and early neuroblast lineage at single-cell resolution.

The otocyst harbors progenitors for most cell types of the mature inner ear. Developmental lineage analyses and gene expression studies suggest that distinct progenitor populations are compartmentalized to discrete axial domains in the early otocyst. Here, we conducted highly parallel quantitative RT-PCR measurements on 382 individual cells from the developing otocyst and neuroblast lineages to assay 96 genes representing established otic markers, signaling-pathway-associated transcripts, and novel otic-specific genes.

Objective assessment of stapedotomy surgery from round window motion measurement.

Objectives: As prostheses and techniques related to stapes surgery develop and improve, there is a need to assess the functional outcomes of the surgery objectively. This study provides a bench test method to assess the functional results of stapes surgery by measuring volume displacement at the round window (RW), which is closely related to pressure propagation of the travelling wave inside the cochlea and thus to hearing.

Design: Motion of the RW membrane in fresh temporal bones was measured using a scanning laser Doppler interferometry system for normal and reconstructed conditions, and the performance of the reconstruction with stapes surgery was quantitatively assessed by comparison of the volume displacements at the RW between the two conditions.

Intrinsic regenerative potential of murine cochlear supporting cells.

The lack of cochlear regenerative potential is the main cause for the permanence of hearing loss. Albeit quiescent in vivo, dissociated non-sensory cells from the neonatal cochlea proliferate and show ability to generate hair cell-like cells in vitro. Only a few non-sensory cell-derived colonies, however, give rise to hair cell-like cells, suggesting that sensory progenitor cells are a subpopulation of proliferating non-sensory cells.

Serial analysis of gene expression in the chicken otocyst.

The inner ear arises from multipotent placodal precursors that are gradually committed to the otic fate and further differentiate into all inner ear cell types, with the exception of a few immigrating neural crest-derived cells. The otocyst plays a pivotal role during inner ear development: otic progenitor cells sub-compartmentalize into non-sensory and prosensory domains, giving rise to individual vestibular and auditory organs and their associated ganglia. The genes and pathways underlying this progressive subdivision and differentiation process are not entirely known.

The influence of prosthesis diameter in stapes surgery: a meta-analysis and systematic review of the literature.

Objective: To analyze the influence of stapes prosthesis diameter on postoperative hearing results after stapedotomy without interposition in otosclerotic patients.

Data Sources: PubMed search from 1970 to 2009 using the key words stapedotomy or stapedectomy or otosclerosis or stapesplasty.

Study Selection: Inclusion criteria to select articles and patient groups for meta-analysis and statistical analyses were as follows: otosclerosis as diagnosis, clear description of technique and prosthesis size, calibrated stapedotomy, and complete report of functional results.

Subjective and objective results after bilateral cochlear implantation in adults.

Objective: To assess and compare subjective and objective results after bilateral cochlear implantation with a special emphasis on time interval between the first and second implant.

Study Design: Clinical trial.

Setting: Tertiary referral center.