Endoscopic Stapes Surgery: Pearls and Pitfalls.

The endoscopic approach to stapes surgery affords unique advantages but is not without its specific challenges. The following reviews the equipment and surgical steps required to perform endoscopic stapes surgery safely and effectively, highlighting tips and potential points of failure through a series of case examples.

Cumulative incidence of neck recurrence with increasing depth of invasion.

Objective: To determine if there is a critical depth of invasion that predicts micrometastasis in early oral tongue cancer.

Methods: Retrospective series identifying patients undergoing primary surgical resection of T1 or T2 oral tongue cancer who elected against neck treatment between 2000 and 2015. Cox proportional-hazard model compared the relative hazard and cumulative incidence of recurrence to depth of invasion.

Prevalence of hearing loss among primary school children in Mbarara, Uganda.

Introduction: Hearing loss in children is a common entity worldwide. We examined the prevalence and etiology of hearing loss among primary school children in Mbarara, Uganda.

Methods: Cross-sectional study in primary school children aged 5-14 was performed to determine the prevalence of hearing loss.

Evaluating Progress in the Global Surgical Crisis: Contrasting Access to Emergency and Essential Surgery and Safe Anesthesia Around the World.

Introduction: Since 2007, observations reveal that low- and middle-income countries (LICs and LMICs) experience similar surgical access and safety issues, though the etiology of these challenges varies by country. The collective voice of surveys completed to date has pushed the agenda for the inclusion of safe surgery and anesthesia within global health discussions. Comparison of four countries across the world shows similar basic progress as well as ongoing surgical and anesthesia needs in resource-challenged countries.

Primary tumors of the facial nerve.

This article describes the pathophysiology, diagnosis, treatment, and outcomes of primary tumors of the facial nerve. These tumors include facial nerve schwannomas, geniculate ganglion hemangiomas, glomus facialis, and granular cell tumors. Although these tumors are rare, collected data help to form a consensus with regard to optimal treatment methods.

Petroclival meningiomas.

Petroclival meningiomas are most commonly found in women around 50 years of age and have the general tendency to grow and affect several cranial nerves. At presentation, many patients complain of headaches, gait disturbances and cranial neuropathies. Treatment options include surgery, with a variety of surgical approaches, and or radiotherapy.

Implantable hearing devices: the Ototronix MAXUM system.

For many hearing-impaired individuals, the benefits of conventional amplification may be limited by acoustic feedback, occlusion effect, and/or ear discomfort. The MAXUM system and other implantable hearing devices have been developed as an option for patients who derive inadequate assistance from traditional HAs, but who are not yet candidates for cochlear implants. The MAXUM system is based on the SOUNDTEC Direct System technology, which has been shown to provide improved functional gain as well as reduced feedback and occlusion effect compared to hearing aids.

Velopharyngeal dysfunction in children with Prader-Willi syndrome after adenotonsillectomy.

Introduction: Prader-Willi syndrome (PWS) is a rare genetic disorder with an incidence rate of 1 in 10,000-30,000. Patients with PWS typically have symptoms related to hypotonia, obesity, and hypothalamic dysfunction. A high rate of obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) is found among this population of patients.

Prevention and management of skull base injury.

Skull base defects and injuries are rare, but may occur during endoscopic sinus surgery, as a result of facial trauma, or as a result of tumors in the anterior cranial fossa. Injury to the skull base can lead to catastrophic outcomes such as meningitis, brain abscess, neurological deficits, brain hemorrhage, and death. The content presents ways in which a surgeon may work to prevent or minimize injury to the skull base and describes management of skull base injuries when they do occur, reviews the current literature, and describes various reconstruction techniques used in free tissue grafts and pedicled grafts.