PHOENIX-The right recurrent laryngeal nerve showed greater stimulation than the left during anterior cervical spine surgery on 40 patients, researchers have shown in a study intended to promote greater understanding and prevention of damage to the recurrent nerve during the procedure.
PHOENIX-Just how useful are PET or PET-CT in identifying residual occult nodal disease in patients with head and neck cancer? Two presentations at the 2009 Combined Otolaryngology Spring Meeting addressed this topic.
President Obama has made an astonishing discovery: We’re not producing enough primary care doctors, he recently told Congress. Although this may be news to the president’s minions, physician groups, legislators, insurers, and patients are all well aware of the dearth of generalists.
PHOENIX-Performing salvage surgery after chemoradiation or radiation treatment for laryngeal cancer patients, rather than just performing primary surgery right away, appears to lead to more complications with patients’ tracheoesophageal voice prostheses, according to a retrospective study reported by researchers here.
Oral, head and neck cancer screening is critical to early detection-but otolaryngologists often find that they aren’t reaching the populations at highest risk for the disease. Consequently, many physicians are taking the initiative to develop novel and creative outreach programs to target people who are likely to regularly use tobacco and alcohol, as well as individuals who do not have ready access to health care.
ORLANDO-Concurrent chemoradiotherapy (CRT) is considered standard treatment for unresectable advanced head and neck cancer. A new study presented at the 2009 meeting of the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) suggests that induction chemotherapy (IC) delivered before CRT significantly improved time to treatment failure (TTF) compared with standard upfront CRT alone in this setting.
PHOENIX-Eosinophilic esophagitis is a serious, growing problem that is little understood by many otolaryngologists, according to panelists discussing the disease. Some doctors who specialize in swallowing disorders acknowledged that they were not even aware of the problem, let alone well versed in diagnosing and treating the illness, according to results of a survey completed by 80 members of the American Broncho-Esophagological Association (ABEA).
Part 1 of 2 articles
PHILADELPHIA-Surgeons are faced with many options for approaching diseases of the sinus, and the right approach is not always clear-cut. Five experts reviewed several approaches at Rhinology World held recently here, with some favoring a more aggressive approach, some preferring to be less aggressive, and others highlighting new technology.
PHOENIX-When faced with sticky ethical issues-such as a colleague who periodically shows up to work smelling of alcohol, or getting complaints from staff about inappropriate behavior from another doctor-what should be done?
Although eustachian tuboplasty is in its infancy and specific criteria and indications for its use have not yet been established, researchers hope that it might provide a viable alternative to using pressure equalization tubes or tympanostomy for chronic eustachian tube dysfunction.