Gun shot injuries to the temporal bone: Anatomic predictors of mortality.

Purpose: To explore anatomic predictors of mortality from gunshot wounds involving the temporal bone.

Methods: A retrospective search of radiology reports was performed for all patients with CT reports suggestive of gunshot wounds (GSW) to the TB (2000-2020). All cases were reviewed by the senior author to confirm injury to the temporal bone.

Impact of Limb Phenotype on Tongue Denervation Atrophy, Dysphagia Penetrance, and Survival Time in a Mouse Model of ALS.

Current treatments for dysphagia in ALS do not target the underlying tongue weakness and denervation atrophy that is prevalent in spinal and bulbar ALS cases. To address this clinical gap, we studied the low copy number SOD1-G93A (LCN-SOD1) mouse model of ALS to quantify the impact of limb phenotype on tongue denervation atrophy, dysphagia penetrance, and survival time in preparation for future treatment-based studies. Two male LCN-SOD1 breeders and 125 offspring were followed for limb phenotype inheritance, of which 52 (30 LCN-SOD1 and 22 wild-type/WT, both sexes) underwent characterization of dysphagia penetrance (via videofluoroscopic swallow study; VFSS) and survival time at disease end-stage (15-20% body weight loss).

Advancing Laryngeal Adductor Reflex Testing Beyond Sensory Threshold Detection.

Flexible endoscopic evaluation of swallowing with sensory testing (FEESST) is a promising clinical tool to assess airway integrity via the laryngeal adductor reflex (LAR). The current clinical protocol relies on sensory threshold detection, as relatively little is known about the motor response of this sensorimotor airway protective reflex. Here, we focused on characterizing normative LAR motion dynamics in 20 healthy young participants using our prototype high-pressure syringe-based air pulse device and analytic software (VFtrack™) that tracks vocal fold (VF) motion in endoscopic videos.

Fiber optic CO-laser induced emphysema of the supraglottis.

Subcutaneous emphysema is a rare but well-defined surgical complication. However, emphysema of the supraglottic mucosa has not been described in the literature. We present a case of a 2-year-old male who suffered supraglottic emphysema secondary to fiber optic CO-laser use during laryngeal cleft repair.

A Surgical Mouse Model for Advancing Laryngeal Nerve Regeneration Strategies.

Iatrogenic recurrent laryngeal nerve (RLN) injury is a morbid complication of anterior neck surgical procedures. Existing treatments are predominantly symptomatic, ranging from behavioral therapy to a variety of surgical approaches. Though laryngeal reinnervation strategies often provide muscle tone to the paralyzed vocal fold (VF), which may improve outcomes, there is no clinical intervention that reliably restores true physiologic VF movement.

Optimizing the Translational Value of Mouse Models of ALS for Dysphagia Therapeutic Discovery.

The goal of this study was to compare dysphagia phenotypes in low and high copy number (LCN and HCN) transgenic superoxide dismutase 1 (SOD1) mouse models of ALS to accelerate the discovery of novel and effective treatments for dysphagia and early amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) diagnosis. Clinicopathological features of dysphagia were characterized in individual transgenic mice and age-matched controls utilizing videofluoroscopy in conjunction with postmortem assays of the tongue and hypoglossal nucleus. Quantitative PCR accurately differentiated HCN-SOD1 and LCN-SOD1 mice and nontransgenic controls.

A novel use of coblation in the treatment of subglottic stenosis.

Bipolar radiofrequency plasma ablation (Coblation) technology has recently been described in the treatment of airway stenosis. In these small case series and case reports, the mucosal and submucosal tissues have been removed. We describe a novel use of coblation technology, in which a coblation needle was used to submucosally ablate subglottic stenosis in a 9 month-old girl with grade II subglottic stenosis who had previously undergone multiple balloon dilations.