Endoscopic Stapes Surgery: A Comparison With Microscopic Surgery.

OBJECTIVE: To investigate postoperative audiological outcomes and complication rates for fully endoscopic and microscopic stapes surgery carried out by a single surgeon in one center. PATIENTS: All patients having undergone endoscopic and non-endoscopic stapes surgery for otosclerosis from September 2009 to August 2016 under a single surgeon. INTERVENTION(S): Stapedotomy using either an operating microscope or endoscope for visualization. Stapedotomy was carried out using a standard approach. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURE(S): Pre- and postoperative audiometry and complications. RESULTS: Thirty-four patients who underwent endoscopic stapes surgery and 47 patients who underwent non-endoscopic stapes surgery were included in this study. Seventy-nine percent of both endoscopic and non-endoscopic groups had the average air-bone gap closed to less than 10 dBHL, respectively; the difference was not significant (p = 0.940, χ test). No patients with sensorineural hearing loss, vertigo, or facial nerve paresis were reported. Two of 34 patients (6%) of the endoscopic group had the chorda tympani cut intraoperatively for access compared with 11 of 47 patients (23%) of the non-endoscopic group. Sixteen of 47 patients (34%) required an endaural incision for access in the non-endoscopic group; no endaural incisions were made in the endoscopic group. CONCLUSION: Air-bone gap closure and patient complications did not vary significantly between endoscopic and non-endoscopic groups in this study of 34 endoscopic procedures. There is a requirement for further studies with larger sample sizes and longer follow-up periods to fully gauge the safety and effectiveness of this technique.

Granular Cell Tumour of the Larynx.

A 55-year-old lady with a 6 month history of hoarse voice presented to our ENT department. Endoscopic examination displayed a white left arytenoid lesion. Biopsy of this lesion displayed a nodule covered with non-keratinizing stratified squamous epithelium, with a central core of polygonal cells, positive for S-100 staining. This confirmed a granular cell tumour. CO2 laser was utilised to excise this benign tumour. Granular cell tumours of the head and neck are common, but are infrequently found in the larynx. This case report highlights the importance for the otolaryngologist to be aware of this differential diagnosis, particularly as histologically they may be confused with squamous cell carcinoma.

Hemostatic glues in tonsillectomy: A systematic review.

OBJECTIVES/HYPOTHESIS: The aim of this study was to compare use of hemostatic glues to conventional techniques of intraoperative hemostasis for tonsillectomy. STUDY DESIGN: A systematic review of the literature and meta-analysis. METHODS: All published prospective controlled trials that compared hemostatic glues to conventional techniques of hemostasis were identified. We performed a meta-analysis of articles comparing fibrin sealant to electrocautery, and of those comparing electrocautery to electrocautery plus fibrin hemostasis. RESULTS: Seven studies were identified that made qualifications for review, with a total of 748 patients. Outcome measures were postoperative hemorrhage recorded by investigators, and visual analogue scores of pain for day 1, day 3, and day 10 postoperatively. Use of fibrin sealant was not associated with a reduction in hemorrhage rates following tonsillectomy when compared to electrocautery (pooled relative risk [RR] 0.315; 95% confidence intervals [CI]: 0.047-2.093, 224 patients). No statistical difference in bleeding rate was seen between electrocautery hemostasis alone, compared to electrocautery with fibrin sealant (pooled RR 1.742; 95% CI: 0.433-7.005, 108 patients). No statistically significant difference in pain was identified. CONCLUSIONS: Pain and bleeding are significant causes of morbidity post-tonsillectomy. We conclude that there is no significant evidence to support hemostatic glues over current techniques for reducing severity of these outcomes. Consequently, we do not recommended hemostatic glues for routine use in current clinical practice. Studies were generally of low quality and inadequately powered to detect a statistical difference, even when pooled. We advocate further research to facilitate future meta-analysis.

Calmodulin is required for paraflagellar rod assembly and flagellum-cell body attachment in trypanosomes.

In the flagellum of the African sleeping sickness parasite Trypanosoma brucei calmodulin (CaM) is found within the paraflagellar rod (PFR), an elaborate extra-axonemal structure, and the axoneme. In dissecting mechanisms of motility regulation we analysed CaM function using RNAi. Unexpectedly CaM depletion resulted in total and catastrophic failure in PFR assembly; even connections linking axoneme to PFR failed to form following CaM depletion. This provides an intriguing parallel with the role in the green alga Chlamydomonas of a CaM-related protein in docking outer-dynein arms to axoneme outer-doublet microtubules. Absence of CaM had no discernible effect on axoneme assembly, but the failure in PFR assembly was further compounded by loss of the normal linkage between PFR and axoneme to the flagellum attachment zone of the cell body. Thus, flagellum detachment was a secondary, time-dependent consequence of CaM RNAi, and coincided with the loss of normal trypomastigote morphology, thereby linking the presence of PFR architecture with maintenance of cell form, as well as cell motility. Finally, wider comparison between the flagellum detachment phenotypes of RNAi mutants for CaM and the FLA1 glycoprotein potentially provides new perspective into the function of the latter into establishing and maintaining flagellum-cell body attachment.