Initial surgical management of sporadic medullary thyroid cancer: Guidelines based optimal care - A systematic review.

INTRODUCTION: Medullary thyroid carcinoma (MTC) is a rare neuroendocrine tumor from parafollicular cells that produce calcitonin (Ct). Despite several existing guidelines for the surgical management of sporadic MTC (sMTC), optimal initial surgical management of the thyroid, the central and the lateral neck remains a matter of debate. METHODS: A systematic review in PubMed and Scopus for current guidelines addressing the surgical management of sMTC and its referenced citations was conducted as per the PRISMA guidelines. RESULTS: Two-hundred and one articles were identified, of which 7 met the inclusion criteria. Overall, guidelines vary significantly in their recommendations for the surgical management of sMTC. Only one guideline recommended partial thyroidectomy for limited disease, but the possibility to avoid completion thyroidectomy in selected cases is acknowledged in 42% (3/7) of the remaining guidelines. The majority of guidelines (71.4%; 5/7) recommended prophylactic central neck dissection (CND) for all patients while the remaining two guidelines recommended CND based on Ct level and tumor size. The role of prophylactic lateral neck dissection based on preoperative Ct levels was recommended by 42% (3/7) of guidelines. Overall, these guidelines are based on low-quality evidence, mostly single-center retrospective series, some of which are over 20 years old. CONCLUSION: Current surgical management guidelines of sMTC should be revised, and ought to be based on updated data challenging current recommendations, which are based on historic, low-quality evidence. Partial thyroidectomy may become a viable option for small, limited tumors. Prospective, multi-center studies may be useful to conclude whether prophylactic ND is necessary in all sMTC patients.

Computer-aided designed 3D-printed polymeric scaffolds for personalized reconstruction of maxillary and mandibular defects: a proof-of-concept study.

PURPOSE: To investigate the potential reconstruction of complex maxillofacial defects using computer-aided design 3D-printed polymeric scaffolds by defining the production process, simulating the surgical procedure, and explore the feasibility and reproducibility of the whole algorithm. METHODS: This a preclinical study to investigate feasibility, reproducibility and efficacy of the reconstruction algorithm proposed. It encompassed 3 phases: (1) scaffold production (CAD and 3D-printing in polylactic acid); (2) surgical simulation on cadaver heads (navigation-guided osteotomies and scaffold fixation); (3) assessment of reconstruction (bone and occlusal morphological conformance, symmetry, and mechanical stress tests). RESULTS: Six cadaver heads were dissected. Six types of defects (3 mandibular and 3 maxillary) with different degree of complexity were tested. In all case the reconstruction algorithm could be successfully completed. Bone morphological conformance was optimal while the occlusal one was slightly higher. Mechanical stress tests were good (mean value, 318.6 and 286.4 N for maxillary and mandibular defects, respectively). CONCLUSIONS: Our reconstructive algorithm was feasible and reproducible in a preclinical setting. Functional and aesthetic outcomes were satisfactory independently of the complexity of the defect.

Artificial intelligence for automatic detection and segmentation of nasal polyposis: a pilot study.

PURPOSE: Accurate diagnosis and quantification of polyps and symptoms are pivotal for planning the therapeutic strategy of Chronic rhinosinusitis with nasal polyposis (CRSwNP). This pilot study aimed to develop an artificial intelligence (AI)-based image analysis system capable of segmenting nasal polyps from nasal endoscopy videos. METHODS: Recorded nasal videoendoscopies from 52 patients diagnosed with CRSwNP between 2019 and 2022 were retrospectively analyzed. Images extracted were manually segmented on the web application Roboflow. A dataset of 342 images was generated and divided into training (80%), validation (10%), and testing (10%) sets. The Ultralytics YOLOv8.0.28 model was employed for automated segmentation. RESULTS: The YOLOv8s-seg model consisted of 195 layers and required 42.4 GFLOPs for operation. When tested against the validation set, the algorithm achieved a precision of 0.91, recall of 0.839, and mean average precision at 50% IoU (mAP50) of 0.949. For the segmentation task, similar metrics were observed, including a mAP ranging from 0.675 to 0.679 for IoUs between 50% and 95%. CONCLUSIONS: The study shows that a carefully trained AI algorithm can effectively identify and delineate nasal polyps in patients with CRSwNP. Despite certain limitations like the focus on CRSwNP-specific samples, the algorithm presents a promising complementary tool to existing diagnostic methods.

Blood Markers Predicting Clinically Occult Lymph Node Metastasis in Head and Neck Squamous Cell Carcinoma.

INTRODUCTION: The presence of cervical lymph node metastases is an unfavorable prognostic factor in head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC) and a potential cause of treatment failure. Occult lymph node metastasis occurs in approximately 15-20% of HNSCC patients with a clinically negative neck (cN0), greatly impacting on their prognosis. The present study aimed to investigate the role of pre-treatment peripheral blood markers in predicting clinically occult cervical lymph node metastasis. METHODS: This multicenter, retrospective study was performed in a cohort of 472 patients diagnosed with cN0 HNSCC who underwent up-front surgery. Baseline neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio (NLR), platelet-to-lymphocyte ratio (PLR), lymphocyte-to-monocyte ratio (LMR), systemic inflammatory marker (SIM), and systemic immune-inflammation index (SII) were calculated from available blood parameters. RESULTS: Oro-hypopharyngeal and oral cancers, locally advanced stage, moderately (G2), and poorly (G3) differentiated grade were associated with an increased risk of pathological lymph node involvement. NLR, LMR, PLR, SIM, and SII were significantly associated at multivariable analysis. NLR >2.12 was the most reliable at predicting occult lymph node metastasis (OR = 5.22; 95% CI: 2.14-12.75). We describe a predictive score integrating cancer site, local stage, and NLR which is effective at predicting positive lymph node pathological status. CONCLUSIONS: The present study provides evidence that pre-treatment peripheral blood markers, in particular NLR, represent reliable predictors of clinically occult cervical lymph node metastasis in cN0 HNSCC. Therefore, the present study provides a novel useful predictive score for directing the elective management of the neck in patients with cN0 HNSCC.

Hormone pathway comparison in non-idiopathic and idiopathic progressive subglottic stenosis.

PURPOSE: Our previous study on the idiopathic progressive subglottic stenosis (IPSS) highlighted a possible hormonal mechanism, with over-expression of estrogen receptors alpha (ER-α) and progesterone receptors (PR). We tested whether such over-expression take place in non-idiopathic subglottic stenosis (NISS) as well. METHODS: 37 specimens of iatrogenic NISS were analyzed (20 females; mean age, 59 ± 12 years; range 41-85). Immunoreactivity of ER-α and PR was calculated as the product of intensity (1 = weak, 2 = moderate, 3 = strong) and positive cells percentage (1 to 4, for < 10%, 10-50%, 50-80%, and > 80%). This score was calculated on the stenotic tissue (ST), and stenosis margins (SM). RESULTS: The expression of PR was significantly higher in ST of IPSS compared with female and male NISS patients (8.7 ± 3.1 vs. 4.9 ± 3.2, p < 0.001 for IPSS vs. female and 8.7 ± 3.1 vs. 2.1 ± 2.7, p < 0.01 for IPSS vs. male NISS patients). Contrarily, ER-α showed gender differences, as both IPSS and female NISS patients had similar, yet higher ER-α expression compared with male NISS patients (7.0 ± 4.2 vs. 6.5 ± 2.5, p = NS for IPSS vs. female and 7.0 ± 4.2 vs. 3.4 ± 2.0, p < 0.02 for IPSS vs. male NISS patients). There was no difference in fibroblast receptor expression between ST and SM. However, ER-α and PR expression was significantly lower in marginal mucous glands when compared with ST. CONCLUSIONS: The IPSS pathogenesis appears to be driven by hormonal mechanisms, in particular, by over-expression of PR. Marginal cells display a reduced hormone receptor density. This finding could be interpreted as a compensatory mechanism. These findings could open up for targeted IPSS treatment.

Complications related to the Cook-Swartz implantable Doppler probe use in head and neck microvascular reconstruction: a systematic review.

PURPOSE: Vascular perfusion research has been dedicated to identify inexpensive, effective, and easy to use methods to assess free flap perfusion for both buried and non-buried flaps. METHODS: Systematic review of complications in patients underwent Head and Neck microsurgical reconstruction and vascular implantable Doppler monitoring. RESULTS: Sixteen articles were included for qualitative analysis. 2535 (92.2%) patients received IDP monitorization. Venous thrombosis was the most common vascular complication effecting 28 (1.1%). Regarding complications potentially related to the use of the IDP, just one study described the presence of granuloma formation along the suture line in 2 (0.07%) patients. CONCLUSIONS: Our findings indicated that Cook-Swartz IDP will represents a safe and effective device for FF monitoring in HN reconstructive micro-surgery. A detailed prospective registration of the results and complications related to the use of IDP remains mandatory to precisely estimate results, cost, and complications.

Surgical management and oncological outcome of non-squamous cell carcinoma of the larynx: a bicentric study.

PURPOSE: Non-squamous cell carcinoma (non-SCC) accounts for about 5% of laryngeal malignancies. Survival data are limited, and consensus on management principles is lacking. The present study reviews our experience in the surgical treatment of non-metastatic non-SCC of the larynx and compares oncological and functional outcomes in a cohort of patients affected by traditional SCC. METHODS: We collected data on 592 patients affected by laryngeal neoplasms. Univariate and multivariable survival analyses were performed using Cox proportional-hazards models; survival estimates were reported by hazard ratios (HR) with 95% confidence intervals (CI), and survival curves were established with the Kaplan-Meier method. RESULTS: We identified 326 patients affected by untreated SCC, while 21 had non-SCC histotypes. The non-SCC cohort was composed of 5 soft tissue sarcomas, 8 chondrosarcomas, 2 adenoid cystic carcinomas, 2 neuroendocrine carcinomas, 2 solitary fibrous tumors, 1 Kaposi's sarcoma, and 1 malignant peripheral nerve sheath tumor. Overall survival and disease-specific survival were not significantly different according to histology (p = 0.6 and p = 0.349, respectively). The non-SCC group showed an increased risk of recurrence (HR 5.87; CI95 2.15-16.06; p < 0.001). Nonetheless, no significant difference (p = 0.31) was found at multivariable analysis between the two groups in total laryngectomy-free survival with an organ preservation rate over 5 years of 81% for the non-SCC histologies. CONCLUSION: Non-SCC is a broad spectrum pathology, but generalized laryngeal surgical management principles are still feasible and it is possible to identify patients amenable to conservative surgical treatment without affecting survival.

Parotid pleomorphic and non-pleomorphic adenomas: a mono-institutional series of 512 patients.

PURPOSE: Pleomorphic adenoma (PA) is the most common benign parotid tumor, with a well-known propensity to recur. Many factors have been advocated as prognostic, but there is no consensus on how they affect local control. We studied how PA recurrence-free survival (RFS) may be affected by the most relevant risk factors in a time-to-event analysis, comparing them with those observed in a population of non-PA (NPA). METHODS: Patients undergoing parotidectomy for benign lesions between 2002 and 2018 in a single academic tertiary referral center were included. A description of patients, tumors, and treatment characteristics was performed, highlighting differences between PA and NPA. Analysis of PA RFS and relative risk factors was also conducted. RESULTS: Eight hundred fifty patients underwent parotidectomy for benign lesions, 455 (53.5%) for PA and 57 (6.7%) for NPA. Significant differences between PA and NPA were age at surgery, surgical procedure, and resection margins. Recurrence occurred in 3.1% of PA, with a median disease-free interval of 54 months. 2-, 5-, and 10-year RFS were 99.2, 98.5, and 93.9%, respectively. Age < 18 years (HR = 31.31, p < 0.001), intraoperative tumor spillage (HR = 6.57, p = 0.041), extensive pseudo-capsule interruption (HR = 5.85, p = 0.023), and resection margins < 1 mm (HR = 3.16, p = 0.085) were associated with RFS. CONCLUSION: Patients affected by NPA were significantly older and treated with more conservative surgical procedures compared to those with PA. In PA, younger age, major pseudo-capsule defects, and surgical margins were the most relevant factors affecting local control. These results confirm the importance of an appropriate surgical management and long-term follow-up in PA.

Regional disease in head and neck cutaneous squamous cell carcinoma: the role of primary tumor characteristics and number of nodal metastases.

PURPOSE: To identify potential risk factors impacting on overall survival (OS) of patients affected by lymph node metastasis from cutaneous squamous cell carcinoma (cSCC) of the head and neck (HN), with special emphasis on primary tumor characteristics and pattern of nodal recurrence (intraparotid and/or cervical). METHODS: A bi-institutional retrospective study on consecutive patients affected by cervical and/or intraparotid NM from HN cSCC and surgically treated with curative intent from May 2010 to January 2020 was conducted. OS was considered the outcome of interest. RESULTS: The study included 89 patients (M:F = 3.4:1; median age, 78 years; range, 22-99). Among the primary tumor characteristics, the most relevant prognostic factors were diameter ≥ 4 cm (hazard ratio [HR] = 2.56, p = 0.010) and depth of infiltration ≥ 6 mm (HR = 3.54, p = 0.027). Cervical NM was associated with worse OS (HR = 2.09, p = 0.016) compared to purely intraparotid NM (5-year OS: 60.9% vs. 28.1%, p = 0.014). At multivariable analysis, age, immunosuppression, pT3-T4 categories and a high burden of nodal disease (> 2 NM) confirmed to be independent risk factors, whereas adjuvant radiotherapy was independently associated with better outcome. CONCLUSION: This study confirms the association of several independent prognosticators related to the patient, primary tumor, and nodal burden status. Patients with cervical NM should be considered at risk for harboring a higher number of metastatic lymph nodes.

Video-Assisted Cleft Palate Surgery: Preclinical Comparison Between Endoscope- and Exoscope-Based Approaches.

Using both endoscope and exoscope in cleft soft palate surgery is not widespread, despite the potential advantages related to view magnification, ergonomic posture of the surgeon, and involvement of the surgical team.The aim of the current study is to compare endoscopic (Olympus Visera©) and exoscopic (Karl-Storz Vitom©) assistance in cleft soft palate surgery in a preclinical cadaver setting.A formalin fixed specimen was dissected to mimic the anatomical conditions of a cleft soft palate.Ten young surgeons with limited experience in transoral surgery were involved in the exercitation on the specimen.The exercitation consisted of 4 tasks: (1) device setting; (2) identification of muscle plane; (3) muscle suturing; (4) oral mucosa suturing.Participants were timed while performing each task both with exoscope and endoscope and asked to fill in 2 questionnaires related to the visual systems used (NASA Task Load System TLS and VAS 1-10).All surgeons completed the 4 tasks with both the endoscope and exoscope. The execution times were similar except for faster setting of the exoscope. Participants felt that completing surgical exercises using the exoscope required less physical, intellectual, and temporal efforts compared to the endoscope. The exoscope was also more appreciated for its handling, 3D visualization, and limited encumbrance.Exoscope scored better both at NASA TLS and VAS 1-10 and required a faster setting than endoscope. Further clinical in-vivo studies are required to explore the advantages of these devices in cleft palate repair.

Immunotherapy for the prevention of high-risk oral disorders malignant transformation: the IMPEDE trial.

BACKGROUND: Oral Potentially Malignant Disorders (OPMD) have a non-negligible malignant transformation rate of up to 8%. Loss of heterozygosity (LOH) in critical chromosomal loci has proven to be the most effective marker in defining the risk of transformation and it is found in about 28% of OPMD and may therefore identify patients carrying higher risk. To date, clinical management of OPMD is limited to surgical excision and clinical surveillance, which however do not fully prevent oral cancer development. Immune system has been shown to play a key role in transformation surveillance mechanism and an immunosuppressive imbalance may be responsible for progression to cancer. Given all these considerations, we designed a clinical trial with the aim to prevent OPMD neoplastic transformation and revert the LOH status. METHODS: This is a phase II, open label, single arm, multicentric trial involving Italian referral centres and expected to enrol 80 patients out of a total of 175 screened. Patients who meet all inclusion criteria and test positive for LOH after an incisional biopsy of the OPMD will undergo a short course of immunotherapy with 4 administration of avelumab. After 6 months since treatment start, resection of the entire OPMD will be performed and LOH assessment will be repeated. The follow-up for malignant transformation and safety assessment will last 30 months from the end of treatment, for a total planned study duration of approximately 5.5 years. DISCUSSION: Restoring the activity of immune system through checkpoint inhibitor may play a crucial role against malignant transformation of OPMD by reverting the balance in favour of immune control and preventing cancer occurrence. TRIAL REGISTRATION: This trial was prospectively registered in ClinicalTrials.gov as NCT04504552 on 7th August 2020.

Head and neck adult-type soft tissues sarcomas: survival analysis and comparison between the last two editions of the TNM staging system.

PURPOSE: Head and neck soft tissues sarcomas (HNSTS) are a heterogeneous group of rare tumours. The 8th edition of the TNM staging system (8TNM) considered these lesions separately for the first time. The aim of this study is to assess its effectiveness and identify the most significant prognostic factors for HNSTS. METHODS: A retrospective survival analysis on 101 HNSTS operated between 1995 and 2015 at the National Cancer Institute of Milan was carried out. The variables considered were pathological stage (according to both the 7TNM and 8TNM), site, histotype, depth, grading, surgical radicality, (neo)adjuvant radiotherapy and/or chemotherapy. RESULTS: According to the 7TNM, the T category distribution was 35 T1a, 23 T1b, 11 T2a, and 32 T2b. Applying the 8TNM, the distribution changed to 19 T1, 18 T2, 35 T3, and 29 T4. Five-year overall and disease-specific survivals were 74.3 and 76.2%, respectively. Univariate analysis demonstrated an increased hazard ratio (HR) for deep lesions invading adjacent structures, high-grade, surgery with close/microscopically positive margins, and chemotherapy. Multivariate analysis confirmed an increased HR for deep location and size > 5 cm, G2-G3 tumours, and marginal surgery. No significant difference was found among T categories of the 8TNM. CONCLUSION: The present study underlines the negative prognostic impact of depth, size > 5 cm, high grade, and marginal treatment for HNSTS. Our results did not allow to validate the 8TNM staging system since, apparently, it was not associated with meaningful prognostic stratification. Further studies with wider multicentric cohorts should, however, be performed to obtain more powerful statistical data.

Transoral management of adult benign laryngeal stenosis.

PURPOSE: Management of benign laryngeal stenosis (BLS) remains challenging even though transoral treatments in selected cases have shown satisfactory results, at least comparable to open-neck approaches, with reduced invasiveness. To date, no overall consensus has been reached on many issues. The aim of this study is to assess the effectiveness of a purely transoral treatment in a cohort of patients affected by BLS. METHODS: We evaluated 40 patients affected by BLS, treated by transoral surgery between 2013 and 2017. The European Laryngological Society classification for laryngotracheal stenosis was applied for the staging. Improvement in airway patency and quality of life was assessed by decannulation rate, Airway-Dyspnea-Voice-Swallowing (ADVS) score, Voice handicap index (VHI)-30, and Eating assessment tool (EAT)-10 questionnaires. RESULTS: Mean age was 61 years and M:F ratio was 1.4:1. Previous laryngeal surgery was the most common cause of stenosis (50%), followed by radiotherapy (20%), idiopathic etiology (12%), granulomatosis with polyangiitis (10%), and prolonged intubation (8%). Transoral treatment entailed an improvement in quality of life with a significant decrease in the VHI score (p < 0.0001) and improvement in Airway (p = 0.008), Dyspnea (p < 0.0001), and Voice (p < 0.0001) scores. No major perioperative complications were observed. The decannulation rate among patients with a tracheostomy in place (N = 16) was 63%. CONCLUSIONS: Transoral treatment of selected BLS managed by a team with high-level expertise in surgery and anesthesiology is associated with significant improvement of quality of life, especially with regard to voice and breathing functions.

European Laryngological Society position paper on laryngeal dysplasia Part I: aetiology and pathological classification.

PURPOSE OF REVIEW: To give an overview of the current knowledge regarding the aetiology, epidemiology, and classification of laryngeal dysplasia (LD) and to highlight the contributions of recent literature. As most cases of dysplasia occur at the glottic level and data on diagnosis and management are almost exclusively from this location, laryngeal dysplasia in this position paper is taken to be synonymous with dysplasia of the vocal folds. LD has long been recognized as a precursor lesion to laryngeal squamous cell carcinoma (SCC). Tobacco and alcohol consumption are the two single most important etiological factors for the development of LD. There is currently insufficient evidence to support a role of reflux. Although varying levels of human papillomavirus have been identified in LD, its causal role is still uncertain, and there are data suggesting that it may be limited. Dysplasia has a varying presentation including leukoplakia, erythroleukoplakia, mucosal reddening or thickening with exophytic, "tumor-like" alterations. About 50% of leukoplakic lesions will contain some form of dysplasia. It has become clear that the traditionally accepted molecular pathways to cancer, involving accumulated mutations in a specific order, do not apply to LD. Although the molecular nature of the progression of LD to SCC is still unclear, it can be concluded that the risk of malignant transformation does rise with increasing grade of dysplasia, but not predictably so. Consequently, grading systems are inherently troubled by the weak correlation between the degree of the dysplasia and the risk of malignant transformation. The best data on LD grading and outcomes come from the Ljubljana group, forming the basis for the World Health Organization classification published in 2017.

Emergent tracheostomy during the pandemic of COVID-19: Slovenian National Recommendations.

PURPOSE: Emergent tracheostomy under local anaesthesia is a reliable method of airway management when orotracheal intubation is not possible. COVID-19 is spread through aerosol making the emergent tracheostomy a high-risk procedure for surgeons. The surgical establishment of the air conduit in emergency scenarios must be adjusted for safety reasons. METHODS: To establish the Slovenian National Guidelines for airway management in cannot intubate-cannot ventilate situations in COVID-19 positive patients. RESULTS: Good communication and coordination between surgeon and anaesthesiologist is absolutely necessary. Deep general anaesthesia, full muscle relaxation and adequate preoxygenation without intubation are initial steps. The surgical cricothyrotomy is performed quickly, the thin orotracheal tube is inserted, the cuff is inflated and ventilation begins. Following patient stabilisation, the conversion to the tracheostomy is undertaken with the following features: skin infiltration with vasoconstrictor, a vertical incision, avoidance of electrical devices in favour of classical manners of haemostasis, the advancement of the tube towards the carina, performing the tracheal window in complete apnoea following adequate oxygenation, the insertion of non-fenestrated canulla attached to a heat and moisture exchanger, the fixation of canulla with stitches and tapes, and the cricothyrotomy entrance closure. Appropriate safety equipment is equally important. CONCLUSION: The goal of the guidelines is to make the procedure safer for medical teams, without harming the patients. Further improvements of the guidelines will surely appear as COVID-19 is a new entity and there is not yet much experience in handling it.

European Laryngological Society position paper on laryngeal dysplasia Part II: diagnosis, treatment, and follow-up.

PURPOSE OF REVIEW: To give an overview of the current knowledge regarding the diagnosis, treatment, and follow-up of laryngeal dysplasia (LD) and to highlight the contributions of recent literature. The diagnosis of LD largely relies on endoscopic procedures and on histopathology. Diagnostic efficiency of endoscopy may be improved using videolaryngostroboscopy (VLS) and bioendoscopic tools such as Narrow Band Imaging (NBI) or Storz Professional Image Enhancement System (SPIES). Current histological classifications are not powerful enough to clearly predict the risk to carcinoma evolution and technical issues such as sampling error, variation in epithelial thickness and inflammation hamper pathological examination. Almost all dysplasia grading systems are effective in different ways. The 2017 World Health Organization (WHO) system should prove to be an improvement as it is slightly more reproducible and easier for the non-specialist pathologist to apply. To optimize treatment decisions, surgeons should know how their pathologist grades samples and preferably audit their transformation rates locally. Whether carcinoma in situ should be used as part of such classification remains contentious and pathologists should agree with their clinicians whether they find this additional grade useful in treatment decisions. Recently, different studies have defined the possible utility of different biomarkers in risk classification. The main treatment modality for LD is represented by transoral laser microsurgery. Radiotherapy may be indicated in specific circumstances such as multiple recurrence or wide-field lesions. Medical treatment currently does not have a significant role in the management of LD. Follow-up for patients treated with LD is a fundamental part of their care and investigations may be supported by the same techniques used during diagnosis (VLS and NBI/SPIES).

Fascio-cutaneous-free flaps as primary reconstruction in salvage total laryngectomy.

INTRODUCTION: Salvage total laryngectomy (STL) is the most common treatment for recurrent laryngeal cancer after (chemo)-radiotherapy [(C)RT]. In this scenario, a higher rate of local wound complications, such as pharyngo-cutaneous fistula (PCF) and pharyngo-esophageal stenosis (PES), is generally expected. The aim of the present study is to evaluate outcomes using a standardized reconstructive protocol. METHODS: Between 2009 and 2019, patients undergoing STL after (C)RT were collected at two referral hospitals with the objective of evaluating surgical outcomes using a standardized reconstructive policy based on the use of fascio-cutaneous free flaps as inlay patch grafts and a long-lasting salivary bypass stent. RESULTS: Fifty-five patients (mean age, 66 years; male-to-female ratio, 8:1) were included in the study. Previous treatments were RT in 22 (40%) patients, CRT in 21 (38.2%), and partial laryngeal surgery followed by adjuvant (C)RT in 12 (21.8%). Reconstruction was accomplished by radial forearm and anterolateral thigh free flaps in 16 (29.1%) and 39 (70.9%) patients, respectively. Flap success rate was 98.2%. Concerning postoperative complications, we encountered 3 PCFs (5.4%) and 1 PES (1.8%). CONCLUSION: The standardized reconstructive protocol analyzed herein granted significantly lower rates of PCF and PES after STL compared with data available in the literature.

Long-term intubation and high rate of tracheostomy in COVID-19 patients might determine an unprecedented increase of airway stenoses: a call to action from the European Laryngological Society.

INTRODUCTION: The novel Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), caused by the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2, may need intensive care unit (ICU) admission in up to 12% of all positive cases for massive interstitial pneumonia, with possible long-term endotracheal intubation for mechanical ventilation and subsequent tracheostomy. The most common airway-related complications of such ICU maneuvers are laryngotracheal granulomas, webs, stenosis, malacia and, less commonly, tracheal necrosis with tracheo-esophageal or tracheo-arterial fistulae. MATERIALS AND METHODS: This paper gathers the opinions of experts of the Laryngotracheal Stenosis Committee of the European Laryngological Society, with the aim of alerting the medical community about the possible rise in number of COVID-19-related laryngotracheal stenosis (LTS), and the aspiration of paving the way to a more rationale concentration of these cases within referral specialist airway centers. RESULTS: A range of prevention strategies, diagnostic work-up, and therapeutic approaches are reported and framed within the COVID-19 pandemic context. CONCLUSIONS: One of the most important roles of otolaryngologists when encountering airway-related signs and symptoms in patients with previous ICU hospitalization for COVID-19 is to maintain a high level of suspicion for LTS development, and share it with colleagues and other health care professionals. Such a condition requires specific expertise and should be comprehensively managed in tertiary referral centers.

Validation of the European Laryngological Society classification of glottic vascular changes as seen by narrow band imaging in the optical biopsy setting.

PURPOSE: In 2016, the European Laryngological Society (ELS) proposed a classification for vascular changes occurring in glottic lesions as visible by narrow band imaging (NBI), based on the dichotomic distinction between longitudinal vessels (not suspicious) and perpendicular ones (suspicious). The aim of our study was to validate this classification assessing the interobserver agreement and diagnostic test performance in detecting the final histopathology. METHODS: A retrospective study was carried out by reviewing clinical charts, preoperative videos, and final pathologic diagnosis of patients submitted to transoral microsurgery for laryngeal lesions in two Italian referral centers. In each institution, two physicians, independently re-assessed each case applying the ELS classification. RESULTS: The cohort was composed of 707 patients. The pathologic report showed benign lesions in 208 (29.5%) cases, papillomatosis in 34 (4.8%), squamous intraepithelial neoplasia (SIN) up to carcinoma in situ in 200 (28.2%), and squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) in 265 (37.5%). The interobserver agreement was extremely high in both institutions (k = 0.954, p < 0.001 and k = 0.880, p < 0.001). Considering the diagnostic performance for identification of at least SIN or SCC, the sensitivity was 0.804 and 0.902, the specificity 0.793 and 0.581, the positive predictive value 0.882 and 0.564, and the negative predictive value 0.678 and 0.908, respectively. CONCLUSION: The ELS classification for NBI vascular changes of glottic lesions is a highly reliable tool whose systematic use allows a better diagnostic evaluation of suspicious laryngeal lesions, reliably distinguishing benign ones from those with a diagnosis of papillomatosis, SIN or SCC, thus paving the way towards confirmation of the optical biopsy concept.

Intraoral ultrasonography in the assessment of DOI in oral cavity squamous cell carcinoma: a comparison with magnetic resonance and histopathology.

OBJECTIVE: The first-line therapeutic approach for oral cavity squamous cell carcinoma (OCSCC) is complete surgical resection. Preoperative assessment of depth of invasion (cDOI) is crucial to plan the surgery. Magnetic resonance (MR) and intraoral ultrasonography (IOUS) have been shown to be useful tools for assessment of DOI. The present analysis investigates the accuracy of MR and IOUS in evaluating DOI in OCSCC compared to histological evaluation (pDOI). MATERIALS AND METHODS: Forty-nine previously untreated patients with cT1-T3 OCSCC were reviewed. Nine patients were staged with MR alone, 10 with IOUS alone, and 30 with both MR and IOUS. RESULTS: Mean difference between cDOIMR and pDOI values of 0.2 mm (95% CI - 1.0-1.3 mm) and between cDOIIOUS and pDOI of 0.3 mm (95% CI - 1.0-1.6 mm). Spearman R between cDOIMR and pDOI was R = 0.83 and between cDOIIOUS and pDOI was R = 0.76. Both radiological techniques showed high performance for the correct identification, with the optimum cut-off of 5 mm, of patients with a pDOI ≥ 4 mm and amenable to a neck dissection, with an AUC of 0.92 and 0.82 for MR and IOUS, respectively. CONCLUSION: Both examinations were valid approaches for preoperative determination of DOI in OCSCC, although with different cost-effectiveness profiles and indications.