• Home
  • Practice Focus
    • Facial Plastic/Reconstructive
    • Head and Neck
    • Laryngology
    • Otology/Neurotology
    • Pediatric
    • Rhinology
    • Sleep Medicine
    • How I Do It
    • TRIO Best Practices
  • Business of Medicine
    • Health Policy
    • Legal Matters
    • Practice Management
    • Tech Talk
    • AI
  • Literature Reviews
    • Facial Plastic/Reconstructive
    • Head and Neck
    • Laryngology
    • Otology/Neurotology
    • Pediatric
    • Rhinology
    • Sleep Medicine
  • Career
    • Medical Education
    • Professional Development
    • Resident Focus
  • ENT Perspectives
    • ENT Expressions
    • Everyday Ethics
    • From TRIO
    • The Great Debate
    • Letter From the Editor
    • Rx: Wellness
    • The Voice
    • Viewpoint
  • TRIO Resources
    • Triological Society
    • The Laryngoscope
    • Laryngoscope Investigative Otolaryngology
    • TRIO Combined Sections Meetings
    • COSM
    • Related Otolaryngology Events
  • Search

SM12: Otolaryngologists Debate Resident Training, Implantable Hearing Aids, Oropharyngeal Cancer

by Thomas R. Collins • February 14, 2012

  • Tweet
  • Click to email a link to a friend (Opens in new window) Email
Print-Friendly Version

Dr. Merati also pointed to a study that found that the size of the sac is related to the rate of recurrence: Of the 61 endoscopic procedures studied, 77 percent resulted in total symptom resolution, with pouches larger than 3 cm one of the most common risk factors for recurrence.

You Might Also Like

  • SM12: Options for Hearing Loss are Multiplying
  • SM14: Treatment for Thyroid Tumors and Benefits of Hearing Devices Spark Debate Among Otolaryngologists
  • What Otolaryngologists Need to Know About OTC Hearing Aids
  • HPV Status an Independent Prognostic Factor for Oropharyngeal Cancer Survival
Explore This Issue
February 2012

He said that for medium-sized sacs of 2 to 4 cm, an open or endoscopic procedure might be appropriate, but for all others, open procedure is preferred. He said the shorter procedure time for the endoscopic approach matters much more to the surgeons than to the patients. “I want to help predict, I believe, the swing of the pendulum back towards consideration of the open operation in our armamentarium,” Dr. Merati said.

But Richard Scher, MD, professor and associate chief of otolaryngology-head and neck surgery at Duke University, said an endoscopic procedure is usually the way to go. At Duke, from 2006 to 2011, just 2 percent of 259 endoscopic staple diverticulostomy patients had to have their procedure aborted, and there was a 4 percent recurrence rate, only nine patients out of 252, Dr. Scher said.

Dr. Scher acknowledged that pouches less than 1.5 centimeters in size are not good candidates for endoscopic treatment but said he could find no good data suggesting that endoscopic treatment should not be done on larger pouches. He also said that there was ultimate improvement in dysphagia symptoms in 85 to 92 percent of the patients at Duke over the last five years.

“For most patients, the endoscopic staple approach is the ideal way to deal with these patients initially,” he said, adding that the open approach should be applied “selectively, not in the majority of patients.”

New Hearing Devices

Moisés Arriaga, MD, MBA, FACS, director of otology-neurotology and professor of otolaryngology and neurosurgery at Louisiana State University Health Sciences Center in New Orleans, took the side of implantable hearing devices in the next mini-debate.

Dr. Arriaga, who has participated in clinical trials of several models of middle ear implants, said the approved devices, the Vibrant Soundbridge, the Maxum and the Esteem, have all resulted in better hearing improvement compared to traditional hearing aids. With the Esteem, for example, patients had an overall 21-point improvement in word recognition scores (WRS) compared to their scores with a hearing aid, according to results in the clinical trial leading to its approval.

One of the main reasons for their success is that the canal isn’t blocked with those devices as it is with hearing aids. They also involve direct vibration of the anatomy of the ear.

Pages: 1 2 3 4 | Single Page

Filed Under: Features Tagged With: Combined Sections Meeting, CSM, endoscopic surgery, Hearing aids, hearing loss, hours, implantable devices, oropharyngeal cancer, staffing, Zenker's diverticulumIssue: February 2012

You Might Also Like:

  • SM12: Options for Hearing Loss are Multiplying
  • SM14: Treatment for Thyroid Tumors and Benefits of Hearing Devices Spark Debate Among Otolaryngologists
  • What Otolaryngologists Need to Know About OTC Hearing Aids
  • HPV Status an Independent Prognostic Factor for Oropharyngeal Cancer Survival

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

The Triological SocietyENTtoday is a publication of The Triological Society.

Polls

Would you choose a concierge physician as your PCP?

View Results

Loading ... Loading ...
  • Polls Archive

Top Articles for Residents

  • Applications Open for Resident Members of ENTtoday Edit Board
  • How To Provide Helpful Feedback To Residents
  • Call for Resident Bowl Questions
  • New Standardized Otolaryngology Curriculum Launching July 1 Should Be Valuable Resource For Physicians Around The World
  • Do Training Programs Give Otolaryngology Residents the Necessary Tools to Do Productive Research?
  • Popular this Week
  • Most Popular
  • Most Recent
    • A Journey Through Pay Inequity: A Physician’s Firsthand Account

    • The Dramatic Rise in Tongue Tie and Lip Tie Treatment

    • Otolaryngologists Are Still Debating the Effectiveness of Tongue Tie Treatment

    • Shifting the Treatment Goalpost Toward Medical Management of Recurrent Respiratory Papillomatosis

    • Excitement Around Gene Therapy for Hearing Restoration

    • The Dramatic Rise in Tongue Tie and Lip Tie Treatment

    • Rating Laryngopharyngeal Reflux Severity: How Do Two Common Instruments Compare?

    • Is Middle Ear Pressure Affected by Continuous Positive Airway Pressure Use?

    • Otolaryngologists Are Still Debating the Effectiveness of Tongue Tie Treatment

    • Complications for When Physicians Change a Maiden Name

    • Excitement Around Gene Therapy for Hearing Restoration
    • “Small” Acts of Kindness
    • How To: Endoscopic Total Maxillectomy Without Facial Skin Incision
    • Science Communities Must Speak Out When Policies Threaten Health and Safety
    • Observation Most Cost-Effective in Addressing AECRS in Absence of Bacterial Infection

Follow Us

  • Contact Us
  • About Us
  • Advertise
  • The Triological Society
  • The Laryngoscope
  • Laryngoscope Investigative Otolaryngology
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of Use
  • Cookies

Wiley

Copyright © 2025 by John Wiley & Sons, Inc. All rights reserved, including rights for text and data mining and training of artificial technologies or similar technologies. ISSN 1559-4939