[Surgical treatment of exostosis in the external auditory canal]. / Tratamiento quirúrgico de las exóstosis de conducto auditivo externo.

Exostoses of the external auditory canal are benign bony tumours very common in individuals who frequently participate in aquatic activities. Although most of the cases are asymptomatic, patients with more severe exostoses have recurrent episodes of external otitis and related conductive hearing loss. In the great majority of these cases, a medical treatment (aspiration and antibiotic drops) resolves the symptoms. Patients with more severe canal stenosis, resistant to medical treatment, are candidates for surgical removal of the exostoses. This report reviews our surgical experience with 45 patients, 52 ears, who have undergone surgical removal of exostoses in our Institution during the last 13 years. We describe the technique that we use a well as the results that we achieve.

[Prevalence of exostoses among surfers of the Basque Coast]. / Prevalencia de exóstosis entre surfistas de la Costa Guipuzcoana.

Exostoses of the External Auditory Canal are benign bony tumours very common in individuals who frequently practice water activities. The objective [corrected] of this study is to determine the prevalence of exostoses in a population of surfers of the Basque Coast. We have studied the correlation between years surfing and the prevalence and severity of exostoses. We have done a cross-sectional epidemiological study giving a questionnaire Twenty-five of the 41 surfers had surfer's ear (61%) and the prevalence was significantly higher in those who had surfed for more than 10 years (p < 0.05). Severity was also higher in the first group (p < 0.05). The relation between the hours dedicated to the sport showed similar results. only one of the 24 cases needed surgery (4%).

[Palpation and CT to evaluate the cervical adenopathies in head and neck tumours]. / Palpación y TC para evaluar las adenopatías cervicales en los tumores de cabeza y cuello.

Lymphatic metastasis is an important prognostic factor in patients with head and neck squamous cell carcinomas. Diagnostic evaluation and treatment of this adenopathies is very important. We can use physical examination, computered tomography (CT), magnetic resonance, ultrasound... but none of these give us a 100% security. This study evaluates the accuracy of physical examination and CT in detecting cervical lymph nodes. 120 neck dissections were performed after palpation and CT of 72 patients with head and neck carcinoma. Sensitivity of palpation was 51.7 and specificity 96.7. CTs sensitivity was 65 and specificity 86.7. Both, physical examination and palpation have a high number of mistakes evaluating cervical nodes. N0 necks are still a problem for Head and Neck Surgeons.

[Recurrent respiratory papillomatosis. Our experience and literature review]. / Papilomatosis respiratoria recurrente. Nuestra experiencia y revisión de la literatura.

The recurrent respiratory papillomatosis is a benign lesion induced by virus, with predisposal factors not yet clear out. Several treatment have been used, being the endoscopic surgery with laser CO2 the most used technique. We present our experience with laryngeal papillomatosis patients operated with laser CO2 in the last 15 years. The high rate of recidive in the youth pattern and the possibility of malignant degeneration in the adults charactherises this patients. Meanwhile without not other concluyent works surgery will be the first therapeutic alternative, avoiding mutilant operations, and paying attention in detecting lesions suggesting malignancy.

[Malignant tumors of external ear. Review of cases in 1991-2001]. / Tumores malignos de conducto auditivo externo. Revisión de nuestra casuística 1991-2001.

Carcinoma of the external auditory canal is a rare tumor. Owing to the rarity of this disease, the literature provides very few publications of series. There is not a widely accepted staging system. The lack of a standarized staging system impedes meaningful interpretation of the literature. It is very difficult to compare different treatment strategies and results. The study is a retrospective case review. Seven patients with external auditory canal malignancies were studied. We used the staging system proposed by Arriaga et al. for both the Squamous cell carcinoma and non-SCC. We describe the risk factors, the symptoms, the treatment and the outcome and prognosis for our patients.