In an emergency scenario, it is vital to appreciate the difference between a laryngectomy and a tracheostomy so that oxygen can be administered in an appropriate manner. This survey aimed to ascertain the level of emergency healthcare personnel's knowledge with regards to distinguishing between a tracheostomy and a laryngectomy patient, and the emergency management of such patients.

Forty-four accident and emergency staff (28 doctors, nine nurses and seven paramedics) within one Foundation Trust were invited to complete a questionnaire to ascertain (1) their confidence at differentiating between a laryngectomy and tracheostomy stoma; (2) knowledge of the appropriate site for oxygen delivery if needed; and (3) overall level of training on this subject.

There were significant gaps in knowledge, particularly with regards to fundamental differences between a tracheostomy and a laryngectomy; less than 5 per cent were able to describe the anatomical difference. Only 41 per cent correctly identified the route of oxygen administration in laryngectomy patients.

In this cohort of emergency staff, the fundamental difference between a laryngectomy and a tracheostomy was poorly understood. This lack of awareness of front-line emergency staff needs to be addressed in order to maximise patient safety.

To evaluate common pitfalls in diagnosing complicated plunging ranula, either due to misidentification of plunging ranula or alternative pathology (i.e. false negatives or false positives, respectively).

A review of cases of plunging ranula seen in Middlemore Hospital, New Zealand, was performed. Diagnostically uncertain cases were identified and reviewed, taking particular note of clinical, radiological and surgical findings.

From our database, 12 cases were found to have had a complicated diagnosis of plunging ranula. Ten cases were false negatives: four were treated as abscesses, four as simple cysts, one as a thyroglossal cyst and one as a cystic hygroma. Two cases were false positives: one was found to be a thyroglossal cyst and the other a lipoma.

The diagnosis of plunging ranula is usually straightforward, with simple surgical management. Misdiagnosis can lead to recurrence of symptoms and inappropriate management, with the associated risks, complications and frustrations of surgery.

To identify those patients most at risk of developing a compressive post-operative haematoma following thyroid surgery.

Retrospective analysis of patients undergoing thyroid surgery. Factors associated with the group of patients who developed a post-operative haematoma were examined using a matched pairs, case–control design.

Following 355 thyroid operations, seven patients developed a post-operative haematoma requiring return to the operating theatre for bleeding control. A post-operative systolic blood pressure of greater than 150 mmHg, in the post-anaesthetic care unit, was the major significant factor identified by regression analysis (p = 0.002). Current smoking status was also a significant factor (p = 0.04).

In our facility, a post-anaesthetic systolic blood pressure in excess of 150 mmHg was associated with an increased risk of haemorrhage following thyroid surgery.

Transoral rigid laryngoscopy with videostroboscopy is the most practical method to visualise the vocal folds. The optimal topical anaesthesia regimen for transoral rigid laryngoscopy has not yet been established.

To compare patient comfort and compliance with various topical anaesthetics for transoral rigid laryngoscopy.

Each of 10 patients received a random topical administration of either 2 per cent lidocaine gel, 1 per cent tetracaine gel or 1 per cent tetracaine solution, 10 minutes before undergoing rigid laryngoscopy with videostroboscopy. During follow-up laryngoscopies, the agent with the lowest mean visual analogue scale score for discomfort was then used to study the timing of topical anaesthetic application: the agent was given to the patient 5, 10 or 15 minutes before laryngoscopy (with the timing randomly selected).

Compared with lidocaine gel or tetracaine gel, laryngoscopy with topical tetracaine solution was more comfortable. There was a statistically significant difference in discomfort score between the 5 and 10 minute application groups, but not between the 10 and 15 minute groups.

Tetracaine solution, applied topically 10 minutes before transoral rigid laryngoscopy, significantly decreases patient discomfort.

(1) To investigate the efficacy of a computer-generated three-dimensional laryngeal model for laryngeal anatomy teaching; (2) to explore the relationship between students' spatial ability and acquisition of anatomical knowledge; and (3) to assess participants' opinion of the computerised model.

Forty junior doctors were randomised to undertake laryngeal anatomy study supplemented by either a three-dimensional computer model or two-dimensional images. Outcome measurements comprised a laryngeal anatomy test, the modified Vandenberg and Kuse mental rotation test, and an opinion survey.

Mean scores ± standard deviations for the anatomy test were 15.7 ± 2.0 for the ‘three dimensions’ group and 15.5 ± 2.3 for the ‘standard’ group (p = 0.7222). Pearson's correlation between the rotation test scores and the scores for the spatial ability questions in the anatomy test was 0.4791 (p = 0.086, n = 29). Opinion survey answers revealed significant differences in respondents' perceptions of the clarity and ‘user friendliness’ of, and their preferences for, the three-dimensional model as regards anatomical study.

The three-dimensional computer model was equivalent to standard two-dimensional images, for the purpose of laryngeal anatomy teaching. There was no association between students' spatial ability and functional anatomy learning. However, students preferred to use the three-dimensional model.

To report a case of multifocal fibrosclerosis with a nine-year follow up, and to discuss this disease's radiological appearance and management. The disease is a rare systemic disorder of unknown cause characterised by fibrous proliferation involving multiple anatomical sites.

A 50-year-old woman presented with histological findings characterised by similar inflammatory processes involving the meninges, pituitary gland, peritoneum, retroperitoneum and orbits, prompting a search for a common pathophysiology. A diagnosis of multifocal fibrosclerosis was postulated. Symptom improvement was noted after treatment with prednisone and azathioprine.

This is the first documented case of involvement of the cochleovestibular nerve in a patient with multifocal fibrosclerosis. The rare association between fibrotic diseases and masses showing various clinical patterns should be kept in mind by otolaryngologists, and imaging performed to investigate for multifocal fibrosclerosis. However, diagnosis can only be confirmed with tissue biopsy and histopathological examination.

Cochlear implantation has been used to rehabilitate profoundly deafened adults for more than 25 years. However, surgical labyrinthectomy is often considered a contraindication to cochlear implantation, especially if there is a significant delay between the two procedures. As the role of cochlear implantation continues to expand, this idea requires reconsideration.

A 59-year-old woman presented to our clinic after undergoing bilateral surgical labyrinthectomies for intractable Ménière's disease 21 years prior. Despite the significant time delay, she underwent cochlear implantation with a good audiological outcome and improved quality of life.

Changes to the cochlea and vestibule following surgical labyrinthectomy include cochlear ossification and obliteration of the vestibule. These issues have been thought to limit the potential for cochlear implantation, especially when there is a significant delay between the two procedures. However, delayed cochlear implantation, even decades after labyrinthectomy, remains a viable treatment option which can benefit selected patients.

Traditionally, a 1-cm surgical resection margin is used for early oral tongue tumours.

All tumour stage one (n = 65) and stage two (n = 13) oral tongue cancers treated between January 1999 and January 2009 were followed for a median of 38 months (minimum 12 months). The sites of close and involved margins were histologically reviewed.

Involved and close margins occurred in 14 and 55 per cent of cases, respectively. The number of involved vs clear or close margins was equivalent in tumour stage one (90 vs 82 per cent), node-negative (100 vs 84 per cent) and perineural or lymphovascular invasion (20 vs 21 per cent) cases. Close or involved margins were similarly likely to be posterior (59 per cent) as anterior (41 per cent, p = 0.22), lateral (57 per cent) as medial (43 per cent, p = 0.34), and mucosal (59 per cent) as deep (41 per cent, p = 0.22). Local recurrence occurred in 28 per cent of cases at a median of 12 months, and was more likely in cases with involved (50 per cent) than clear or close margins (25 per cent, p = 0.10). Disease-free survival was worse in involved margins cases (p = 0.002).

Involved margins are common in early tongue tumours, and are associated with increased local recurrence and worse survival. Close or involved margins occur in all directions and all tumour types. A wider margin may be justified.

We report a case of bilateral acute mastoiditis and subperiosteal abscesses successfully managed with simultaneous surgery.

A case report and literature review are presented.

A two-year-old boy presented with fever, otalgia, otorrhoea and bilateral protruding ears. He was treated for 72 hours with intravenous antibiotics but failed to improve. Computed tomography confirmed bilateral mastoid abscesses with destruction of the mastoid cortex. Bilateral drainage of the subperiosteal abscesses and bilateral cortical mastoidectomies were carried out. Post-operatively, he recovered well, and free field audiometry showed a normal hearing threshold of 20 dB across all test frequencies.

This is only the second reported case of bilateral mastoiditis and subperiosteal abscesses. This case illustrates the use of bilateral cortical mastoidectomy in the successful management of this condition following failed antibiotic therapy, and highlights important management considerations.

We report a case of bilateral pneumolabyrinth presenting as sudden, bilateral deafness, without temporal bone fracture, after a fall.

A 49-year-old man presented with sudden, bilateral deafness and whirling vertigo, without any other neurological manifestations. Temporal bone computed tomography clearly demonstrated the presence of air in the vestibule and cochlea on both sides. However, there was no definite fracture line, ossicular chain anomaly or soft tissue density in the temporal bone or middle-ear cavity. The patient was treated conservatively. Unfortunately, there was no improvement in his hearing.

Pneumolabyrinth is an uncommon condition in which air is present in the vestibule or cochlea. It is rarely found, even with fractures violating the otic capsule or with transverse fractures of the temporal bone. In addition, its bilateral occurrence is extremely rare. In this article, we describe a case of bilateral pneumolabyrinth presenting as sudden, bilateral deafness, without temporal bone fracture, an occurrence which has not previously been reported.

A disintegrin and metalloproteinase domain containing protein 33 (also known as ADAM-33) is a member of a matrix metalloproteinase family which mediates extracellular matrix remodelling and changes in cellular adhesion. This study aimed to evaluate expression of this protein in laryngeal squamous cell carcinoma, and to determine its correlation with patients' clinicopathological characteristics.

Forty paraffin blocks of laryngeal carcinoma underwent immunohistochemical staining to detect “a disintegrin and metalloproteinase-33” expression. Case records were reviewed to determine patient characteristics.

All epithelial, vascular and stromal staining scores were significantly increased in tumour tissue compared with controls (p < 0.001). However, patients' clinical characteristics at the time of diagnosis, and their disease extent, did not correlate significantly with the immunohistochemical staining scores.

This study suggests that increased expression of “a disintegrin and metalloproteinase-33” may play a role in the pathogenesis of laryngeal carcinoma.

Few studies have examined the association between ABO blood grouping and head and neck cancer. This retrospective review examined the association between blood group and laryngeal cancer incidence and patient mortality.

Of 271 patients treated for squamous cell laryngeal carcinoma (1997–2002), 143 patients with supraglottic, glottic and subglottic tumours were included; 128 patients were excluded. The blood group characteristics of patients and healthy blood donors were compared.

There was no significant correlation between blood type and laryngeal carcinoma incidence or mortality. Type A blood was commoner in African Americans with laryngeal cancer than Caucasian patients, but not significantly so. As expected, five-year survival rates were lower in patients with more advanced stage cancer (p < 0.0001).

Although our findings show no association between blood group and five-year survival, these results are inconclusive, and warrant further study of the association between blood type and laryngeal (and other) head and neck cancers.

To assess the recovery of various muscle fibre types in the posterior cricoarytenoid muscle after laryngeal reinnervation in the rat, and to determine the influence of tacrolimus on this process.

Four groups of rats underwent resection and anastomosis of the left vagus nerve, and were administered either tacrolimus at a low dose or an immunosuppressive dose, or cyclosporin A at a low dose or an immunosuppressive dose. A fifth group received surgery alone, and a sixth group received neither surgery nor drug treatment (healthy group). Muscles were removed for immunohistochemical analysis 45 days after surgery.

There was no difference in the proportion of types 1, 2a and 2b muscle fibres, comparing the immunosuppressive tacrolimus group and the healthy group, whereas there were fewer type 1 fibres in the group receiving surgery alone, compared with the healthy group (7 vs 12.1 per cent, respectively; p = 0.0303).

Tacrolimus enhanced the recovery of normal laryngeal muscle fibres after reinnervation in the rat, indicating a possible role in laryngeal transplantation.

The 2009 McKinsey National Health Service report considered that tonsillectomy was relatively ineffective and often unjustified, and that its frequently could be greatly reduced. ENTUK argued against this, for severe recurrent tonsillitis. This study audited clinical indications for tonsillectomy.

Current guidelines state that patients with recurrent tonsillitis must have disabling sore throat episodes five or more times per year, and symptoms for at least a year, to justify tonsillectomy.

Seventeen recurrent tonsillitis patients receiving tonsillectomy were audited prospectively. Indications were poorly documented in the referral letter, so surgeons agreed to list specified tonsillectomy criteria when scheduling patients for tonsillectomy. A pro forma reminder was distributed to all clinics, and the next 100 scheduled tonsillectomy patients were audited.

In the first audit, all 17 tonsillectomies were justified but only two (11.8 per cent) had documented indications. In the second audit, 85 per cent of patients had all essential criteria, which were documented in the listing letter.

Tonsillectomy risks being removed from the UK essential otolaryngological surgical register, risking increased patient morbidity and work absence, despite valid supporting evidence of efficacy for recurrent tonsillitis. All UK otolaryngology units should strictly adhere to the ENTUK and Scottish Intercollegiate Guidelines Network recommendations for tonsillectomy, and should document essential criteria in the listing letter, to strengthen the advocacy argument for tonsillectomy as essential, valid treatment for recurrent tonsillitis.

The World Health Organization ‘Surgical Safety Checklist’ has been adopted by UK surgical units following National Patient Safety Agency guidance. Our aim was to assess compliance with our local version of this Checklist.

Otolaryngology trainee doctors prospectively assessed compliance with the local Checklist over a six-week period. A staff educational intervention was implemented and the audit was repeated 12 months later.

A total of 72 cases were assessed. The initial audit found that: 44 per cent of procedures were undocumented at ‘Sign in’; ‘Time out’ was inappropriately interrupted in 39 per cent of cases; the procedure started before Checklist completion in 33 per cent of cases; and the ‘Sign out’ was not read out in 94 per cent of cases and was not fully documented in 42 per cent of cases. Following education, re-audit indicated that overall compliance had improved from 63.7 per cent (±8.9 per cent standard error of the mean) to 90.4 per cent (±2.7 per cent standard error of the mean).

Our completed audit cycle demonstrated a significant improvement in Checklist compliance following educational intervention. We discuss barriers to compliance, as well as strategies for quality improvement, and we call for other surgeons to similarly publish their Checklist experience and assess its impact on surgical outcomes.

Foreign bodies in the transnasal ethmoido-sphenoidal sinus are uncommon. We present a case of unilateral rhinorrhoea caused by a foreign body which had been lodged in the ethmoido-sphenoidal sinus for 38 years.

A 40-year-old woman presented with unilateral rhinorrhoea. Computed tomography showed a foreign body located in the right ethmoido-sphenoidal sinus, with a defect of the lamina papyracea and the ethmoid roof. The endonasal approach did not permit extraction of the foreign body. A combined approach allowed the extraction of a pen cap, and the defect of the ethmoid roof was rebuilt.

Despite its limitations, the endonasal approach remains the treatment of first choice for osteo-meningeal defects, because of its minimal invasiveness and high success rate. However, in the presented case a combined approach was needed.

We report deafness occurring as an extremely rare complication of influenza A caused by the H1N1 virus (‘swine flu’), in two children.

Case reports and review of the literature concerning influenza A (H1N1) and acquired viral infection causing deafness.

Two children with normal hearing developed bilateral deafness following influenza A (H1N1). The diagnosis was confirmed using polymerase chain reaction. Both patients were treated with oseltamivir.

Following a review of the literature, these two patients appear to be the first reported cases of bilateral deafness following influenza A (H1N1).

To determine (1) the accuracy of positron emission tomography – computed tomography in the diagnosis of head and neck cancer, (2) the learning curve involved, and (3) whether its use alters patient management.

A retrospective study including 80 patients with head and neck cancer who underwent positron emission tomography – computed tomography image fusion at Blackpool Victoria Hospital.

Fifty-three patients underwent positron emission tomography – computed tomography for staging (32 for detection of a primary tumour and 21 for detection of distant metastasis) and 27 for detection of loco-regional recurrence. Ten primary tumours and 20 recurrences were accurately diagnosed by this method. Eighteen patients had their tumour stage and management modified as a result of this method of imaging. The effect of the learning curve resulted in better true positive detection rates, one year after introduction (81 versus 61 per cent). The sensitivity and specificity of this method in detecting head and neck cancer were 70 and 42 per cent, respectively, whereas those of conventional imaging were 73 and 51 per cent, respectively.

Compared with magnetic resonance imaging, the benefits of positron emission tomography – computed tomography may be limited to diagnosis of recurrence, as it is less hindered by tissue fibrosis, radiotherapy-related oedema, scarring and inflammation.