Subannular tube insertion: anatomical considerations.

OBJECTIVES: To assess the distance between the bony groove created during subannular tubes placement and the chorda tympani, and examine the depth of the hypotympanum and retrotympanum. METHOD: Grooves drilled in cadaver temporal bones at two levels were imaged to measure: the distance between the chorda tympani nerve and the tympanic sulcus, and the depth of the hypotympanum and the retrotympanum relative to the annulus. RESULTS: The chorda tympani was between 0 and 5 mm from the groove cut across the annulus. The hypotympanum average depth was 2 mm (0.44-6.40 mm) and the retrotympanum average depth was 1 mm (0-2.53 mm). CONCLUSION: Grooves drilled across the tympanic sulcus should be placed at a point 20 per cent of the height of the tympanic membrane or lower; this will ensure least risk of injury to the chorda tympani nerve. The depth of the hypotympanum and retrotympanum dictates that the posteroinferior part of a subannular tube flange should be approximately 2 × 1 mm.

Sinonasal Lymphoma Presenting as a Probable Sanctuary Site for Relapsed B Acute Lymphoblastic Leukaemia: A Case Report and Review of the Literature.

Sinonasal lymphoma is a non-Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL) representing 1.5% of all lymphomas. It presents as an unremitting ulceration with progressive destruction of midline sinonasal and surrounding structures. Poor prognosis warrants early treatment although diagnosis is challenging and frequently delayed. It is usually primary in origin and to our knowledge the sinonasal region has never been reported as a sanctuary site in leukaemia/lymphoma relapse. We present a unique case of B-cell ALL (acute lymphoblastic leukaemia) with late relapse to the nasal septum as a sinonasal lymphoblastic lymphoma and with genetic support for this as a sanctuary site.

Adherence of Candida albicans to silicone is promoted by the human salivary protein SPLUNC2/PSP/BPIFA2.

Interactions between Candida albicans, saliva and saliva-coated oral surfaces are initial events in the colonization of the oral cavity by this commensal yeast, which can cause oral diseases such as candidiasis and denture stomatitis. Candida albicans also colonizes silicone voice prostheses, and the microbial biofilm formed can impair valve function, necessitating frequent prosthesis replacement. We have previously shown that saliva promoted binding of C. albicans cells to silicone in vitro, and that the selective binding of specific salivary proteins to voice prosthesis silicone mediated attachment of C. albicans cells. The C. albicans cells adhered to a polypeptide (or polypeptides) of ~36 kDa eluted from saliva-treated silicone. We show here that a protein of similar size was identified in replicate blots of the eluate from saliva-treated silicone when the blots were probed with antibodies to human SPLUNC2, a salivary protein with reported microbial agglutination properties. In addition, SPLUNC2 was depleted from saliva that had been incubated with silicone coupons. To determine whether SPLUNC2 is a yeast-binding protein, SPLUNC2 cDNA was expressed in Escherichia coli. Purified recombinant His-tagged protein (SPLUNC2r) bound to silicone as demonstrated by immunoblot analysis of an eluate from SPLUNC2r-treated silicone coupons and (35) S-radiolabelled C. albicans cells adhered in a dose-dependent manner to SPLUNC2r-coated silicone. We conclude that SPLUNC2 binds to silicone and acts as a receptor for C. albicans adherence to, and subsequent colonization of, voice prosthesis silicone.

Iatrogenic injury of the chorda tympani: a systematic review.

OBJECTIVE: To review the currently available literature on iatrogenic injury of the adult chorda tympani. DESIGN: Systematic literature review. METHOD: Five electronic databases and one search engine were used to access available English language literature on the chorda tympani, focusing on iatrogenic injury. RESULTS: The chorda tympani is most often injured during middle-ear surgery, after which at least 15-22 per cent of patients experience symptoms, mostly changes in taste and dryness of the mouth. Numerous factors influence whether injury to the chorda tympani causes symptoms, including the extent of injury, type of surgery, age of the patient, anatomical variables and subjective adaptation. Although most patients experience gradual symptomatic recovery, complaints can be persistent and troublesome. CONCLUSION: Care should be taken to preserve the chorda tympani during middle-ear surgery, and to warn patients pre-operatively about this potential complication. This is particularly important if surgery is bilateral.

Clinical anatomy of the chorda tympani: a systematic review.

OBJECTIVE: The chorda tympani is at risk of iatrogenic injury throughout its course. This paper reviews the clinical anatomy of the nerve in adults. DESIGN: Systematic literature review. METHOD: Relevant English-language articles were identified using five electronic databases and one search engine. Data from approximately 70 scientific papers were supplemented with information from selected reference texts. RESULTS: The anatomy of the chorda tympani differs from standard descriptions, particularly regarding its exit from the middle ear and area of lingual innervation. Whilst it is known to convey taste sensation from the anterior two-thirds of the tongue and parasympathetic innervation to the submandibular and sublingual salivary glands, the chorda tympani probably has additional sensory and secretomotor functions. CONCLUSION: A detailed understanding of the anatomy of the chorda tympani may help to reduce the risk of iatrogenic injury during head, neck and middle-ear surgery, and to explain the variable consequences of such injury.

Long-term middle-ear ventilation with subannular tubes.

OBJECTIVE: Long-term tympanostomy tubes are associated with a significant rate of complications, particularly persistent perforation. We describe the outcomes of 57 subannular ventilation tube insertions in 45 consecutive patients. DESIGN: Retrospective case series. SUBJECTS: We studied 45 consecutive patients with chronic otitis media with effusion and hearing loss (n = 54 cases), associated with adhesive otitis media (n = 7), tympanic membrane retraction (n = 17) and tympanic membrane perforation (n = 3). The mean follow up was 48 months (range, nine to 95 months). RESULTS: The mean duration of ventilation for tubes still in situ was 22 months (range, one to 76 months; n = 29), and for tubes which extruded or were removed 23 months (range, one to 85 months; n = 28). The mean improvement in air-bone gap was 14 dB (range, -14 to 35 dB). Complications included blockage (16 per cent), perforation after extrusion (9 per cent), granulation (5 per cent) and infection (4 per cent). CONCLUSION: Subannular ventilation tubes provide an effective option for management of intractable middle-ear effusion and eustachian tube dysfunction.

How we do it: tympanoplasty: are different three- and four-frequency averages comparable?

The results of tympanoplasty may be reported in a variety of ways. Pure-tone audiometry underpins reporting, yet there is no constancy in the pure-tone threshold average used. We examine the relationship between the 0.5, 1, 2 kHz, 0.5, 1, 2, 3 kHz and 0.5, 1, 2, 4 kHz pure-tone audiometry averages. Using audiometric data collected for 77 patients, we have compared hearing threshold using three different frequency averages derived from pure-tone audiometry. The 0.5, 1, 2 kHz, 0.5, 1, 2, 3 kHz and 0.5, 1, 2, 4 kHz three- and four-frequency averages are significantly different, this difference being primarily determined by the changes in the 4-kHz threshold. Using an average including 4 kHz results in 8% few patients achieving an ABG closure to within either 10 dB or 20 dB. When comparing surgical results with others, surgeons should use reports employing comparable audiometric measures of analysis.

Malleus-stapes assembly: experience with two prostheses.

Tympanoplasty is often a necessary part of middle-ear surgery, the most common defect being that between an intact, mobile stapes and the malleus handle. The most readily available tissue is the patient's incus, reshaped to bridge the space between an intact stapes and the malleus. When the incus cannot be used, the hydroxyapatite Wehrs incus prosthesis can be used as an alternative.Twenty-six patients had an autograft incus ossiculoplasty and 20 patients underwent modified Wehrs incus prosthesis ossiculoplasty. The average post-operative air-bone gaps (ABGs) were 16.2 dB hearing loss (dBHL) and 17.2 dBHL, respectively. Air-bone gap closure to within 15 dBHL was achieved for 48 per cent of incus autografts and for 57 per cent of Wehrs prostheses, and to within 20 dBHL for 77 per cent and 62 per cent, respectively. Over four years follow up, the reconstruction was stable for each group, the ABGs being 17.7 dBHL and 17.1 dBHL, respectively.

How we do it: modified Wehrs incus ossiculoplasty.

Keypoints * Ossiculoplasty is commonly performed as part of tympanoplasty. Hydroxyapatite is a favoured material for ossicular protheses. * A modification to the Wehrs incus prosthesis is described. * Twenty-one procedures were performed on 20 patients and the results are reported. * On average there was a 4-5 dB closure of the air-bone gap (ABG), with patients having a hearing gain procedure averaging 11 dB closure. Air-bone gap closure to

Tympanoplasty - reporting hearing results and 'hearing objective'.

When reporting the results of tympanoplasty, the postoperative air-bone gap (ABG) presented in 10 dB bins, ABG closure and air conduction threshold gain are commonly reported indicators of tympanoplasty outcome. When tympanoplasty is performed, the reconstruction aims either to improve hearing threshold or to maintain satisfactory thresholds, that is, the surgical intention is either for 'hearing gain' or for 'hearing preservation'. This review of the early results of tympanoplasty examines whether classifying surgery as either for hearing gain or for hearing preservation influences the reported results. Closure of the ABG to within 20 dB was achieved in 72-94% of cases, the average postoperative ABG was between 13.1 and 17.1 dB with the postoperative air conduction threshold being between 27.4 and 33.5 dB. These figures were similar for both hearing preservation and hearing gain procedures. However air conduction threshold gain was significantly greater for the 'hearing gain' group (17 dB versus 0 dB) and was reduced to 8 dB by combining the two groups. Overall, indicating whether surgery attempted hearing preservation or hearing gain did not significantly alter the parameters used for reporting tympanoplasty outcome.

The smell map: commonality of odour perception confirmed.

We have examined the repeatability of a perceptual space, or smell map, initially developed in a sample of 20 people. A total of 110 normosmic people performed similarity ratings for pairs of the 11 commonly encountered odours used in the previous study. Multidimensional scaling was again used to analyse the relationships between odours. Some individual plots and an archetype, generated using the data from all participants, produced results similar to the previous study, confirming the ability to obtain reproducible results using a different tester and different participants. Exploration of the source space, that is, the spatial distribution of the individual plots relative to each other, suggests that the current model explains about 50% of the variation between subjects for the two-dimensional solution and 57% for the three-dimensional solution.

Myringostapediopexy: surgical expectation.

Myringostapediopexy may occur as a result of incus erosion with medialization of the tympanic membrane and is recognized as often producing serviceable hearing. The technique may be used as part of tympanoplasty following either canal wall up or canal wall down surgery for chronic otitis media. The use of this type of reconstruction is influenced by the anatomy of the ear after disease excision. This review of the hearing levels associated with myringostapediopexy shows that there is a similar range of hearing level both for naturally formed as well as surgically fashioned myringostapediopexy. For both 'naturally formed' and following canal wall up surgery about 80 per cent of patients will have an air-bone gap of 20 dB or less compared to 60 per cent of those who undergo canal wall down surgery.