A new treatment algorithm for advanced otosclerosis, based on the clinical experience of Dutch investigators and supported by a literature review they conducted, suggests that the window for successful cochlear implantation (CI) in patients with severe disease is narrower than some otolaryngologists may believe .
Maintaining sinus patency after functional endoscopic sinus surgery (FESS) for chronic rhinosinusitis (CRS) has long been an issue; as many as 23 to 47 percent of patients require revision surgery after FESS. Now, a new drug-eluting, bioabsorbable stent manufactured by Intersect (Palo Alto, Calif.) is being billed as a “breakthrough treatment [that] improves outcomes for sinus surgery,” according to a news release from the company. The device, which received pre-market approval from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in August, has been studied since 2008. It is currently available in Texas, New York, Philadelphia, New Jersey, Atlanta, Ohio and Kentucky.
Born in Council Bluffs, Iowa, Patrick Edgar Brookhouser, MD, grew up in Missouri Valley, Iowa, where he graduated valedictorian from the local high school. His intellect and natural curiosity earned him numerous academic awards, and he graduated from Creighton University summa cum laude and from Johns Hopkins Medical School as a member of Alpha Omega Alpha.
Oral appliances may work better than CPAP for some patients
Certain well-established care delivery models for otolaryngologists have long defined the specialty. But, like pharmacology, surgical techniques and treatment therapies, practice models evolve. And while traditional models continue to dominate the scope of most otolaryngology practices, the field is seeing a gradual shift to new constructs. Among them…
Six years after balloon sinuplasty was introduced to the otolaryngology community, it remains an evolving technology. “In my opinion, balloon dilatation has great potential, but it’s still trying to find its proper place in the ENT arena,” said Ralph Metson, MD, clinical professor of otology and laryngology at Harvard Medical School and Massachusetts Eye and Ear Infirmary in Boston.
Although steroids are widely used to treat a variety of otolaryngologic conditions, the short- and long-term side effects remain a concern and fuel the need to better understand their proper role. Contributing to the ongoing controversy over their use are gaps in the evidence, panelists said here Sept. 12 at the American Academy of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery Annual Meeting.
It is now well recognized that pathogens found in biofilms play a role in many mucosal-based otolaryngologic-related infections, but what that role is and how to prevent or treat biofilms remain unknown, concluded a panel of experts convened here on Sept. 17 at the 2011 American Academy of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery Annual Meeting.
Balancing the risks and benefits of concurrent reirradiation and chemotherapy for recurrent head and neck cancers is difficult for physicians at even the most experienced centers. Research recently published in Cancer, however, suggests that selection of patients who may benefit from this therapy should be based on the patient’s previous treatment and the amount of time that has elapsed since initial treatment…
Fat grafts have been used to repair the aging face for about two decades, but recently, surgeons have been using grafts to repair more extensive facial deformities caused by injury, illness or congenital abnormalities. Success, they said in interviews with ENT Today, depends on proper patient selection, matching the fat graft to defects that are most amenable to repair with fat injections and an understanding of the biology of the graft and how it reacts with surrounding facial structures.