Surgical Use of Supraclavicular Artery Flap for Head and Neck Cancer Defects Repair: Personal Experience

Abstract Introduction For a long time, major surgical defects after oncological surgery have always been challenging cases for surgeons in terms of wound healing and covering technique. Objectives To demonstrate the feasibility of supraclavicular artery flap (SCAF) in the reconstruction of surgical defects in those "fragile" patients undergoing oncological surgery who could not possibly have endured the timeframes involved in using microvascular free flaps. Methods Between January 2018 and January 2019, at the Azienda Socio Sanitaria Territoriale (ASST) Bergamo Est Hospital (Bergamo, Italy), we reported the cases of 11 patients in whom the SCAF was used for surgical reconstruction after oncological surgery in our Otolaryngology Department. The median age of the 11 patients was 68.7 years old. Results The SCAF has proved, in almost all 11 cases in which it was used, to be very reliable and, above all, easy and quick to make in those "fragile" patients without the need for further intervention. There was only one case in which the resection involved the auricle entirely and a small area of perimeatal bone exposure occurred, which, anyway, healed by secondary intention. Conclusion The SCAF is an extremely versatile flap for head and neck surgery to be considered especially for fragile and vulnerable patients who cannot undergo prolonged surgical time. Moreover, this technique has also shown high feasibility in small hospitals where there is not a plastic surgery department and the surgeon may face the difficulty of practicing surgical reconstruction after enlarged resection.

Surgical Use of Supraclavicular Artery Flap for Head and Neck Cancer Defects Repair: Personal Experience.

Introduction For a long time, major surgical defects after oncological surgery have always been challenging cases for surgeons in terms of wound healing and covering technique. Objectives To demonstrate the feasibility of supraclavicular artery flap (SCAF) in the reconstruction of surgical defects in those "fragile" patients undergoing oncological surgery who could not possibly have endured the timeframes involved in using microvascular free flaps. Methods Between January 2018 and January 2019, at the Azienda Socio Sanitaria Territoriale (ASST) Bergamo Est Hospital (Bergamo, Italy), we reported the cases of 11 patients in whom the SCAF was used for surgical reconstruction after oncological surgery in our Otolaryngology Department. The median age of the 11 patients was 68.7 years old. Results The SCAF has proved, in almost all 11 cases in which it was used, to be very reliable and, above all, easy and quick to make in those "fragile" patients without the need for further intervention. There was only one case in which the resection involved the auricle entirely and a small area of perimeatal bone exposure occurred, which, anyway, healed by secondary intention. Conclusion The SCAF is an extremely versatile flap for head and neck surgery to be considered especially for fragile and vulnerable patients who cannot undergo prolonged surgical time. Moreover, this technique has also shown high feasibility in small hospitals where there is not a plastic surgery department and the surgeon may face the difficulty of practicing surgical reconstruction after enlarged resection.

The Prevalence of Chronic Cerebrospinal Venous Insufficiency in Meniere Disease: 24-Month Follow-up after Angioplasty.

PURPOSE: To evaluate relationship between Meniere disease (MD) and chronic cerebrospinal venous insufficiency (CCSVI) using ultrasound, magnetic resonance (MR) imaging, and venography and to evaluate the effectiveness of angioplasty of the internal jugular vein (IJV) and azygos vein (AV) in reducing symptoms of MD. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Patients with a confirmed diagnosis of MD unresponsive to standard treatment underwent duplex ultrasound and MR imaging to diagnose CCSVI. Healthy volunteers were also studied to evaluate CCSVI in asymptomatic subjects. Patients with CCSVI and MD underwent venography and percutaneous transluminal angioplasty (PTA) of IJV and AV. RESULTS: There were 182 patients with no clinical benefit from standard treatments evaluated. CCSVI was diagnosed in 175 (87.5%) patients with MD. Venography was performed in 69 patients to confirm the diagnosis of CCSVI. In 80% of these patients, PTA of the IJV and/or AV was effective for treating signs and symptoms of MD. In the healthy cohort, CCSVI was observed in only 12% of subjects. CONCLUSIONS: These results suggest a possible etiologic relationship between CCSVI and MD that warrants further investigation.

Chronic cerebrospinal venous insufficiency as a cause of inner ear diseases.

CONCLUSION: The present study confirms a correlation between chronic cerebrospinal venous insufficiency (CCSVI) diagnosis and Ménière's disease (MD). CCSVI could be considered a new ultrasound vascular pattern of the cerebrospinal venous system in patients affected by definite MD. Conversely, the present results showed that CCSVI cannot be considered a pathogenic mechanism for idiopathic sudden sensorineural hearing loss (ISSNHL). OBJECTIVES: The aim of this study is to investigate the correlation between CCSVI and MD and to evaluate if CCSVI can be considered a risk factor also for ISSNHL. Moreover, this study seeks to establish if, even with a different timing of onset and natural history, MD and ISSNHL may share a common pathogenic mechanism. METHOD: One hundred and eighty-two patients affected by definite MD, 60 patients affected by ISSNHL, and 100 healthy control patients were enrolled in this study. All subjects underwent an echo-color Doppler (ECD) of the cerebrospinal venous flow. RESULTS: One hundred and fifty-two patients affected by definite MD (83,5%) and 13 patients affected by ISSNHL (21.6%) were positive for CCSVI at the ECD examination of the cerebrospinal venous flow. The healthy control group consisted of 100 subjects and only 21 (21%) showed positivity for CCSVI.

Does age influence the success of intra-tympanic steroid treatment in idiopathic sudden deafness?

CONCLUSIONS: The present study shows that AGE, DELAY, and PTA_PRE may be considered factors influencing therapeutic success in intra-tympanic steroid therapy. OBJECTIVE: The aim of the study is to evaluate the relationship between the therapeutic success of intra-tympanic prednisolone therapy and age, in patients affected by idiopathic sudden sensorineural hearing loss (ISSNHL), considering the influence of factors such as delay, gender, and pure tone average (PTA) pre-therapy. METHOD: This retrospective study involved 402 consecutive patients, affected by unilateral ISSNHL between January 2009 and January 2014. Patients were divided into two groups based on age: group one with 94 patients aged over 65 years and group two with all 402 patients enrolled in the study, including those over 65. RESULTS: PTA recorded before the beginning of the therapy (PTA_PRE) in group one was worse than for group two. In both groups the therapy was significantly effective in improving hearing thresholds, even if PTA_PRE was significant and negatively correlated with success rate. This effect disappeared within the population over 65. On average, each day of DELAY from the onset of hearing loss to the beginning of therapy cuts almost 2% of the possibility to recover. AGE was negative and significant when specified continuously for group two.

Autograft ossiculoplasty in cholesteatoma surgery: a histological study.

CONCLUSION: The results of the present study reject the hypothesis that epithelial inclusions into the ossicles could cause cholesteatoma recurrences, but strongly suggest the performance of a safe cleaning procedure for ossicular remnants to make them usable in ossiculoplasty in patients with partially or non-encapsulated cholesteatoma. OBJECTIVE: The aim of the study was to define, before any sort of cleaning procedure, if there is any epithelial inclusion inside the ossicles of patients with cholesteatoma and if the findings could be correlated with surgical aspect of cholesteatoma. METHODS: The specimens used for this study comprised 19 mallei and 15 incudes, which were obtained intraoperatively from 24 patients. Each ossicle was grouped on the basis of the intraoperative aspect of the cholesteatoma as follows. Grade 1: 10 ossicles obtained from encapsulated cholestatoma, non-invasive, easily cleavable. Grade 2: 14 ossicles obtained from partially encapsulated cholesteatoma, non-invasive, not easily cleavable. Grade 3: 10 ossicles obtained from non-encapsulated cholesteatoma, invasive, not cleavable. Two stapes and one malleus were taken from patients who underwent middle ear surgery for conductive hearing loss and were used as controls. The ossicles were examined histopathologically after removal. RESULTS: Our results do not show any epithelial inclusion inside the ossicles independently from the macroscopic aspect or growing aggressiveness of cholesteatoma. In addition there was no infiltration of inflammatory cells in grade 1, but it was present in one incus (7.1%) of grade 2 and in five ossicles (50%) of grade 3. In ossicles of grade 3 up to four layers of epithelial cells were found on the surface of the ossicles.

A 9-year-old boy with atypical retroauricular pain: a case report.

Idiopathic causes of retroauricular pain are rarely seen in clinical practice. We present a 9-year-old child who suffered from atypical retroauricular pain resistant to conventional treatment. After excluding any other cause of retroauricular pain, a nerve block was performed with a 0.3 ml lidocaine 1% injection into the trigger point. We believe that this case report is important because in the literature there are no similar cases described in children.

Pneumolabyrinth after intratympanic steroid injection in patient with prosthesis of the stapes: a case report.

The aim of this study is to present a patient who developed a pneumolabyrinth following intratympanic steroid injection performed one year after stapes surgery. The patient started a medical treatment but since no improvement of his symptoms occurred, 10 days after the intratympanic injection a surgical treatment was proposed. An exploratory tympanotomy showed a displacement of the stapes prosthesis from the platinotomy, a dislocation of the incus long process, a fracture of the footplate and a depression into the vestibule. The fragment of the broken footplate was removed, a new prosthesis was located. Nausea, vertigo and nystagmus resolved immediately following surgery with a hearing threshold unchanged. In the present case report, the pathogenesis of pneumolabyrinth may be connected to an IT steroid injection proposed to the patient for the onset of sudden sensorineural hearing loss. To our knowledge, no case of a pneumolabyrinth provoked by intratympanic steroid injection has been previously described.

Long-term results of intratympanic prednisolone injection in patients with idiopathic sudden sensorineural hearing loss.

CONCLUSION: The results demonstrate the stability of the efficacy over time of the intratympanic prednisolone protocol and they suggest that the spontaneous recovery does not significantly influence the long-term evaluation of intratympanic therapy. A 10-day follow-up after 3 days of intratympanic prednisolone administration can be considered a sufficient period to evaluate the effectiveness of the undertaken therapy. OBJECTIVE: To assess the stability of the efficacy over time of intratympanic steroid therapy for patients with idiopathic sudden sensorineural hearing loss. METHODS: A total of 122 patients received an intratympanic steroid injection of prednisolone daily for 3 days. Audiograms were performed before therapy and at 10 days and 1 year after therapy. Successful recovery was defined as complete and partial recovery using Siegel's criteria and complete and marked recovery following Furuhashi's criteria. RESULTS: The comparison of audiometric data at study entry, at 10 days, and at 1 year after the treatment showed a statistically significant improvement of the mean pure tone audiometry. The evaluation of the hearing outcomes demonstrated a statistically significant improvement, with similar success rates when evaluated 10 days and 1 year after the treatment. Comparing the hearing outcomes at 1 year with the results at 10 days, no significant difference was detected between these two time points.