Mastoid antral ventilation tube; new treatment modality for reccurent otitis media with effusion and its long term results.

OBJECTIVES: To evaluate the efficiency of mastoid antral ventilation tube (MAVT) treatment in recurrent/chronic otitis media with effusion (OME). METHODS: 20 OME patients who were unsuccessfully treated with ventilation tube (VT) at least twice, who consented to MAVT and who were followed up at least three years were included in the study group. Control group comprised 10 patients who had the same characteristics and refused to undergo MAVT and underwent VT placement again. Pre-operative and post-operative otomicroscopic, hearing tests, and CT findings were compared between the groups statistically. RESULTS: MAVT was placed into 24 ears of 20 patients. In the control group, VT was placed in 13 ears of 10 patients. Postoperatively, in the study group, one tympanic membrane with adhesion and nine membranes with retraction returned to their anatomic positions after MAVT. In the control group, 2 retracted tympanic membranes returned to normal position. There was significant difference between groups in terms of mastoid aeration (P = 0.006). Post-operative pure tone threshold values and mastoid aeration findings were statistically different from preoperative conditions. CONCLUSION: This preliminary study demonstrates that MAVT may be effective in the surgical treatment of recurrent/chronic OME. However, further studies with larger patient series should be carried out.

Langerhans cell histiocytosis in bilateral mastoid cavity.

A 39-year-old male was admitted to our clinic with symptoms of headache, dizziness, nausea, otalgia, otorrhea, tinnitus, and hearing loss in both ears for 3 weeks. Physical examination revealed edema in the tympanic membrane and external ear canal, and pain by palpation in the mastoid area bilaterally. There was no nystagmus, and the rest of the physical examination was otherwise normal. Temporal bone high resolution computed tomography (CT) showed a lesion causing erosion in the mastoid cortex, tegmen tympani, ossicles, and in the bone covering the sigmoid sinus bilaterally. There was also erosion in the superior semicircular canal and petrous bone on the left side. Cortical mastoidectomy was performed under general anesthesia. Histopathologic examination of the tissue revealed Langerhans cell histiocytosis (LCH). In this paper a case with LCH, presenting with bilateral mastoid involvement which has been rarely reported in the literature, is discussed with the existing literature.

Temporal bone fractures: evaluation of 77 patients and a management algorithm.

BACKGROUND: We aimed to evaluate the etiologies, otolaryngological features, radiological findings, management strategies, and outcomes of temporal bone fractures. METHODS: Seventy-seven temporal bone fracture cases were retrospectively evaluated for age and gender distribution, side of the fracture, etiology of injuries, the presence of blood otorrhea, tympanic membrane perforation, cerebrospinal fluid otorrhea, hearing loss, hemotympanum, and facial or other cranial nerve palsies, and computerized tomography reports. RESULTS: Nearly 55% of the cases were caused by traffic accidents and were predominantly male (76.6%). Otolaryngological presentations in order to frequency were early conductive hearing loss (65.8%), blood otorrhea (61.2%), hemotympanum (58.5%), tympanic membrane perforation (25.6%), facial nerve paralysis (12.3%), cerebrospinal fluid otorrhea (8.5%), and sensorineural hearing loss (5.4%). Most of the fractures were petrous (65.8%) and longitudinal type (51.2%). CONCLUSION: In this research, otolaryngological findings in order of frequency and treatment approaches were compared with literature findings and discussed in 77 temporal bone fracture cases. We formed a management algorithm for the systematic evaluation and treatment of temporal fractures.

Treatment of Pott's Puffy tumor with balloon sinuplasty: report of three cases.

Pott's Puffy tumor (PPT) is a rare entity characterized by subperiosteal abscess associated with osteomyelitis of the frontal bone. It is usually managed by surgical curettage of the osteomyelitic bone and long-term antibiotic therapy. Balloon catheter dilatation is a new technique which was recently introduced for the treatment of chronic rhinosinusitis. In this article, we present three PPT cases (two of them were secondary to endoscopic sinus surgery) who were successfully treated with balloon catheter dilatation and long-term antibiotherapy.

Papillary thyroid carcinoma with metastasis to the temporooccipital skull: a case report.

The patient was admitted to our clinic with the complaint of swelling in his left post-auricular region. The medical history revealed that he underwent thyroid surgery eight years ago and the specimen was reported as papillary thyroid carcinoma. Following required analyses, total thyroidectomy and biopsy from mastoid region were performed. Total thyroidectomy specimen was proved thyroid papillary microcarcinomas at five foci of the thyroid gland, while biopsy samples obtained from the mastoid region were reported as metastatic papillary thyroid carcinoma. The patient underwent radioactive iodine, followed by radiotherapy. In this article, we present a 61-year-old male patient with papillary thyroid carcinoma metastatic to the temporooccipital region, accompanied by multiple cranial nerve paralysis.

Tympanoplasty with island cartilage or temporalis fascia: a comparative study.

PURPOSE: To compare clinical and audiological outcomes of the type 1 tympanoplasties where conchal cartilage (island graft) and temporalis fascia were used as the graft material. PROCEDURES: In this retrospective study, the results of type 1 tympanoplasty operations (n = 50) in which cartilage and temporalis fascia were used for graft material were compared. RESULTS: Pre- and postoperative otoscopic findings of both groups were similar (p > 0.05). Preoperatively, the pure tone averages (PTAs) and hearing thresholds of the fascia and cartilage groups were similar (p > 0.05). However, postoperatively, the PTAs and air-bone gap closure were better with temporalis fascia compared to cartilage grafting (p < 0.05). On frequency-specific comparisons, the pure tone thresholds at the frequencies of 0.5, 1 and 2 kHz recovered better with temporalis fascia compared to cartilage (p < 0.05). Although the pure tone recovery was better at 4 kHz with temporalis fascia, the difference between the groups were not significantly different (p > 0.05). CONCLUSION AND MESSAGE: In conclusion, in contrast to many reports in the literature, temporalis fascia grafting seems better in our study than grafting with conchal cartilage.