Glossal abscess as a complication of tongue-base suspension surgery.

Approximately 60 cases of tongue abscess have been reported in the English-language literature over the past 30 years. We report what we believe is the first case of a glossal abscess that arose as a complication of tongue-base suspension surgery. The patient was a 31-year-old man who presented with a several-day history of odynophagia, tongue swelling, voice changes, and increased snoring. Two years earlier, he had undergone a tongue-base suspension procedure for the treatment of obstructive sleep apnea. Computed tomography (CT) revealed a tongue abscess. During peroral incision and drainage, a knotted 0 Prolene suture was discovered within the abscess cavity. The suture was removed, the area was thoroughly irrigated, the drain was placed in the abscess cavity, and the incision was loosely closed. On postoperative day 5, repeat CT revealed resolution of the abscess, and the patient was discharged on oral antibiotics. Although glossal abscess is very rare, physicians should consider it in the differential diagnosis of any patient who presents with lingual swelling following tongue-base suspension surgery.

Chin augmentation.

This article reviews chin augmentation, describing patient evaluation and management, surgical technique, autogenous and alloplastic chin implants, their advantages and disadvantages, and potential complications.

Cochlear implantation in Children with CHARGE syndrome: therapeutic decisions and outcomes.

OBJECTIVES: Ear anomalies and deafness are associated with CHARGE syndrome, which also presents with a cluster of features including coloboma of the eye, heart defects, atresia of the choanae, developmental retardation, and genitourinary abnormalities. The aim of this study is to explore the viability of cochlear implantation in children with CHARGE syndrome and to assess the outcome. STUDY DESIGN: Retrospective chart review. METHODS: Eleven children presenting with severe to profound sensorineural hearing loss associated with CHARGE syndrome were the subjects of this study. Routine audiometric measurements and the Infant Toddler Meaningful Auditory Integration Scale (IT-MAIS) were performed pre- and postoperatively. In addition, the degree of the subjects' cochlear deformity were measured and correlated to outcome. RESULTS: All patients had varying degrees of ear anomalies, seven patients suffered from coloboma of the eyes, two had heart defects, five exhibited choanal atresia, eleven showed developmental retardation, and six had genitourinary abnormalities. Ten of the children underwent cochlear implantation with complete insertion of the electrode array without complication and were followed over a 3-month to a 7-year period. The eleventh child was not implanted because of severe retardation. All of the implanted children showed varying, but limited degrees, of auditory benefit as measured by routine audiometry and the IT-MAIS. CONCLUSIONS: Careful treatment planning for children with sensorineural hearing loss and CHARGE syndrome can lead to varying, but limited degrees, of auditory benefit with no increase in surgical complications. Although the implant enhanced the children's 'connectivity' to the environment, it did not promote the development of oral language skills in this population.