Reconstruction of ear canal wall with superior pedicled composite multi-fractured osteoperiosteal flap: a new technique and preliminary outcomes

OBJECTIVE

This study evaluated the functional results of the superior pedicled composite multi-fractured osteoperiosteal flap technique. This method is a novel technique for the reconstruction of the external auditory canal. The study also examined the effect of the superior pedicled composite multi-fractured osteoperiosteal flap technique on patients' disease-related quality of life.

METHOD

A total of 37 patients who underwent the superior pedicled composite multi-fractured osteoperiosteal flap technique were enrolled in the study. Their functional hearing results and disease-related quality of life scores were evaluated.

RESULTS

A significant improvement was observed in the patients' hearing scores at the post-operative sixth month relative to the pre-operative period, and the patients' disease-related quality of life increased significantly.

CONCLUSION

The superior pedicled composite multi-fractured osteoperiosteal flap method can be safely used, especially in patients undergoing retrograde mastoidectomy because of limited cholesteatoma. This method contributes to improving patients' hearing levels and disease-related quality of life.

Early clinical outcomes of ınferior turbinate radiofrequency and lateralization combined with septoplasty

INTRODUCTION

Mechanical obstruction is the most common form of nasal obstruction. Among the types of mechanical obstructions, septum deviation and inferior turbinate hypertrophy are the most prevalent.

OBJECTIVE

This study evaluated the early clinical outcomes of inferior turbinate radiofrequency and inferior turbinate lateralization combined with septoplasty in the treatment of nasal obstruction symptoms.

METHODS

The research retrospectively evaluated data from 33 patients (24 male, nine female) undergoing septoplasty and inferior turbinate radiofrequency (RF group) and 32 patients (24 male, eight female) treated with septoplasty and inferior turbinate lateralization (LAT group), who were admitted, with complaints of nasal obstruction, to the University of Health Sciences, Department of Otorhinolaryngology, between January 1, 2017 and January 1, 2018. The patients' preoperative and 6-month postoperative symptoms were evaluated via the Nasal Obstruction Symptom Evaluation, the NOSE scale.

RESULTS

The mean preoperative NOSE scores were 10.3±4.2 in the RF group and 10.9±4.9 in the LAT group, and the mean six-month postoperative scores were 1.09±1.3 in the RF group and 1.2±1.3 in the LAT group. There was no significant difference in NOSE scores between the two groups (p>0.05).

CONCLUSION

The data obtained in this study show that both methods result in similar outcomes in terms of relieving nasal obstruction symptoms in patients requiring inferior turbinate intervention. Therefore, the researchers believe that, in each case, the intervention method should be selected at the discretion of the patient and surgeon(s).

Classification of laryngeal injury in patients with prolonged intubation and to determine the factors that cause the injury

OBJECTIVE

This study aims to evaluate injuries occurring in the larynx of patients intubated in intensive care units for a long time.

STUDY DESIGN

Prospective clinical study.

SETTING

Tertiary hospital.

SUBJECT AND METHODS

Between April 15, 2019, and November 15, 2019, 40 patients who were hospitalized in intensive care units had a tracheotomy procedure due to prolonged intubation, and laryngeal structures were evaluated by direct laryngoscopy. The laryngeal structures were evaluated in four groups as glottic-supraglottic region, arytenoid vocal process, interaritenoid region and subglottic region. Edema, granulation and ulceration findings in these four regions were recorded. The injuries to the laryngeal structures were classified as stages 0-3. As a result of the data obtained, the relationship between the degree of laryngeal lesions and the factors that may cause these lesions was investigated.

RESULTS

According to our classification, nine patients had stage 1, 16 patients had stage 2 and 15 patients had stage 3 laryngeal injury. There was no significant relationship between the stage of laryngeal injury and age, sex and diameter of the intubation tube. There was a statistically significant relationship between laryngeal injury and the day the tracheotomy was performed (p = 0.007).

CONCLUSION

In patients that had prolonged endotracheal intubation, injury to the laryngeal structures is inevitable. To minimize this occurrence, tracheotomy should be performed for intubations that extend for more than seven days. When performing the tracheotomy, the laryngeal structures should be evaluated, necessary precautions should be taken for the traumatic lesions that are difficult to heal, and treatment should be started.

The Prognostic Value of Circulating Inflammatory Cell Counts in Sudden Sensorineural Hearing Loss and the Effect of Cardiovascular Risk Factors

OBJECTIVES

Recent studies suggest that elevated neutrophil to lymphocyte ratio (NLR) and platelet to lymphocyte ratio (PLR) are poor prognostic factors in sudden sensorineural hearing loss (SSNHL). We aimed to investigate the accuracy of this hypothesis by taking into account the effect of cardiovascular risk (CVR) factors.

METHODS

Medical records of 122 patients with SSNHL were reviewed retrospectively and grouped into 2 as; patients without CVR (group 1; n = 68) and patients having CVR (group 2; n = 54). Moreover, 60 control cases who did not have SSNHL were also included and grouped into 2 as; group 3 (n = 30) with CVR and group 4 (n = 30) healthy controls without having SSNHL or CVRs. Neutrophil (N), lymphocyte (L), platelet (Plt), NLR, and PLR between the groups and their relationship with the severity of hearing loss, recovery rates, and audiogram configurations were analyzed.

RESULTS

The highest N and NLR values were in group 1 and were significantly higher than the values of group 4 (P < .05, P < .01). There was no significant relationship between the groups in terms of L, Plt, or PLR values. The highest NLR and PLR values were determined in SSNHL patients with mild hearing loss, complete recovery, and up-sloping audiogram configuration (P > .05).

CONCLUSIONS

Elevated levels of N and NLR may be considered as strong laboratory findings showing an inflammatory response in the diagnosis of SSNHL, but the presence of CVR factors does not seem to increase the inflammatory response in SSNHL as expected. In patients with SSNHL, NLR and PLR elevation may indicate better prognosis.

Endoscopic butterfly inlay myringoplasty: new technique extended perichondrium butterfly

Background: Various graft materials and surgical methods are used in the treatment of tympanic membrane perforations.Aims/Objectives: The aim of this study was to evaluate the operation method and graft success of extended perichondrial butterfly myringoplasty performed by an endoscopic method and the hearing gain of patients.Material and Method: This was a retrospective study evaluating the hearing tests of 54 ears of 48 patients (28 male, 20 female) who underwent surgery between February 2017 and March 2019. Pure-tone audiometric results were analyzed preoperatively and six months postoperatively by recording the perforation size, the duration of surgery, and graft success.Results: The graft success rate was 98.1% (53/54 ears). The perforations were most frequently located in the anterior quadrant and were small-sized. The mean preoperative air-bone gap (ABG) was 17.4 ± 5.24 dB. The mean ABG was 9.2 ± 2.13 dB 1 month postoperatively and 8.5 ± 2.26 dB 6 months postoperatively (p < .005).Conclusions: The endoscopic inlay extended perichondrial butterfly myringoplasty method is safe and doesn't require tympanomeatal flap elevation. Moreover, it shortens hospitalization time, facilitates anatomical closure of the membrane, and sometimes closes perforations in the anterior part, which cannot be clearly evaluated after graft placement.

Transcanal Endoscopic Type 1 Cartilage Tympanoplasty in Children

Objective

Transcanal endoscopic type 1 tympanoplasty is a minimally invasive procedure that enables better visualization of deep and narrow spaces compared to conventional microscopic methods. In our study, we aimed to evaluate air-bone gap difference, graft success, and hearing gain according to the perforation size and location in pediatric patients who underwent transcanal endoscopic type 1 cartilage tympanoplasty.

Methods

Fifty pediatric patients who underwent transcanal endoscopic type 1 cartilage tympanoplasty for chronic otitis media were included in the study. Tragal cartilage grafts were used in all patients. Air conduction pure tone audiometry hearing results (500, 1000, 2000, and 4000 Hz), mean air-bone gap levels, operating times, postoperative gap closure, and graft success rates were evaluated.

Results

Mean operating time was 43.34±8.56 minutes. Overall graft success was 94% (47/50). Mean hearing levels at all frequencies (500, 1000, 2000, and 4000 Hz) were found to have significantly improved after the operation (p<0.001). Mean preoperative air conduction pure tone threshold and mean air-bone gap had statistically significantly improved by the 6th postoperative month (p<0.001).

Conclusion

Transcanal endoscopic type 1 cartilage tympanoplasty was found to be a minimally traumatic, easy and safe method with a low complication rate. In pediatric patients, this method allows for high rates of anatomic and functional recovery with optimal surgery time regardless of the location and the size of the perforation.

The effect of rosmarinic acid on the prevention of myringosclerosis

OBJECTIVES

Myringosclerosis commonly occurs as a long-term complication of ventilation during the treatment of otitis media. We aimed to determine the effects of rosmarinic acid as an antioxidant on experimentally induced myringosclerosis.

METHODS

Twenty-four male Sprague-Dawley rats, weighing 250-300 g, were unilaterally myringotomized and randomly separated into three groups. Group 1 received no treatment (control group) (n = 8); Group 2 received topical rosmarinic acid (n = 8); Group 3 received oral rosmarinic acid (n = 8). On the twenty-first day, the right ears were examined by otomicroscope and findings of myringosclerosis were recorded. Finally, all of the rats were euthanized and the tympanic membrane (TM) thickness and the severity of middle ear mucosal inflammation were evaluated histopathologically.

RESULTS

The myringosclerosis severity, TM thickness, and inflammation scores were found to be significantly higher in the control group than in the topical and systemic treatment groups (p < 0.05). There were no statistically significant differences in terms of TM thickness and inflammation scores between the topical and systemic treatment groups (p > 0.05). While moderate and severe myringosclerosis were higher in the control group, mild myringosclerosis was found to be higher in both treatment groups.

CONCLUSION

The local and oral administration of rosmarinic acid suppressed inflammation, reduced TM thickness, and prevented the development of myringosclerosis in myringotomized rats.

Voice Quality After Radiotherapy and Cordectomy in Early-Stage Glottic Carcinomas

Laryngeal carcinomas are the most common upper respiratory tract cancers and most commonly involve the glottic region. The aim of this study is to evaluate the voice quality after radiotherapy (RT) and microsurgical cordectomy (MC) treatments using Voice Handicap Index (VHI) and Grade, Roughness, Breathiness, Astenicity, and Strain (GRBAS) perceptual evaluation scale in patients with early-stage glottic carcinoma. A total of 37 patients with early-stage glottic carcinomas, 19 patients had RT and 18 patients with MC, were included in our study. The patients were evaluated in terms of their sound quality by using VHI-10 and GRBAS perceptual assessment scale 3 months after the treatment was completed. Although the findings were better in favor of RT according to GRBAS perceptual assessment scale of patients who received RT (n = 19) and MC (n = 18), no statistically significant difference was found between the 2 groups (P = .613). Patients in both groups were evaluated with VHI-10, emotional (P = .036) and physiological (P = .038) scores were significantly higher in MC group and no significant difference was found in functional scores (P = .192). However, there was no statistically significant difference between the 2 groups in terms of voice quality (P = .185). In early-stage (Tis, T1a, T1b) glottic carcinoma, there was no significant difference between RT and MC in terms of voice quality. Therefore, the choice of treatment modality in patients with early-stage glottic carcinoma should be taken into account in terms of the patient's occupation, comorbid diseases, cost of treatment, hospital stay, and, most importantly, patient preference.