Advances in Oto-Rhino-Laryngology最新文献

Injury to the recurrent laryngeal nerve (RLN) can result in impairment of all three laryngeal functions. The RLN is capable of regeneration, but laryngeal functions in cases of severe injury remain impaired. This permanent impairment is caused by either incomplete regeneration and/or occurrence of laryngeal synkinesis. Laryngeal reinnervation can be approached either nonselectively, focusing on nerve reconstruction, or selectively, focusing on separate target muscle reinnervation. Nonselective reinnervation comprises anastomosis to the mainstem of the RLN leading to reinnervation of both abductor and adductor muscle groups (nerve-based reconstruction). In selective reinnervation, abductor and/or adductor muscles are separately reinnervated (function-based reconstruction). A review of laryngeal reinnervation techniques, results in animal models, and the results achieved in patients are given. The clinical implications of reinnervation in unilateral as opposed to bilateral vocal fold paralysis are considered. For unilateral vocal fold paralysis and nonselective reinnervation, good voice results can be achieved. It has the advantage that no foreign materials need to be implanted and may also be used in a growing larynx in the case of children or adolescents. For bilateral vocal fold paralysis, good functional results, recovery of airway as well as voice, can be achieved with selective (or function-based) reinnervation.

Patients with hypopharyngeal cancers frequently present at advanced stage and in poor general health status. Their natural history is characterised by diffuse local primary disease, mucosal and submucosal spread, early cervical nodal metastasis, and a relatively high rate of distant spread. By the time of initial diagnosis, some 60% of all hypopharyngeal cancer patients will be with stage IV disease, some 5% will present with distant metastases, and almost 40% will have a significant reduction in performance status. Less than 20% are diagnosed with a localised early stage disease. A long-standing social habit of excess of alcohol and tobacco usage leads to cancerisation and accounts for the multiple, synchronous primary malignant lesions that occur in many hypopharyngeal cancer patients. The natural history of untreated head and neck squamous cell carcinoma has infrequently been documented in the medical literature. However, without understanding the natural history of hypopharyngeal cancer, patient counselling and clinical management are difficult. Less than 20% of untreated patients survive for > 12 months and only a small proportion of patients will survive for more than 2 years after initial diagnosis. The natural course of the disease in patients treated for cure or, at least, for the relief of symptoms, is certainly more favourable than that of those who are not suited for, or not willing to accept the adverse effects of treatment. However, treatment results are still considerably less encouraging than those that are being reported for other sub-sites of the head and neck region. Among all head and neck cancer sites, 5-year age-standardised relative survival is currently the poorest for cancer of the hypopharynx and the highest for larynx cancers, 25 and 59%, respectively. Among the head and neck cancers, only hypopharynx showed a low outcome (25% at 5 years), with survival figures ranging between ≤30 (North Ireland and Italy) and 8% (Bulgaria). Recent studies from the United States indicate that overall 5-year survival rates for hypopharyngeal cancer have improved significantly in recent years, with the average survival being ≥40%.

This article reviews 3 aspects of Meniere's disease (MD), which have been recently revisited: namely, the pathologic mechanism causing the attacks of vertigo, the clinical diagnosis, and the medical and surgical treatments. The characteristic attacks of vertigo are unlikely to be due to membrane ruptures, so a hypothesis that the vertigo is caused by a volume of endolymph shifting suddenly from the cochlea into the pars superior is suggested. The definite diagnosis according to the American Academy of Otolaryngology HNS 1995 criteria [13] failed to exclude vestibular migraine sufficiently and a revision in 2015 [14] has partly addressed this problem but another method which stresses the interaction of the cochlear and vestibular symptoms is described. The treatment of MD has been updated, providing evidence for each popular therapy. Newer treatments using intratympanic medications including steroid solutions and gentamicin are discussed. Finally, the role of cochlear implants is mentioned.

Perilymphatic fistulas (PLF) and superior semi-circular canal dehiscence syndrome (SCDS) are 2 conditions that can present with sound and/or pressure-induced vertigo. PLF should be suspected in cases of trauma or surgery, while a spontaneous PLF is a diagnosis of exclusion. Research is ongoing to identify an ideal biomarker for perilymph. The diagnosis of SCDS continues to evolve with further research into vestibular-evoked myogenic potentials, electrocochleography, and higher resolution CT imaging. Treatment advances include the transmastoid approach, smaller middle fossa craniotomies, and usage of endoscopes. Temporal bone studies have furthered the understanding of pressure dynamics within the ear and how this relates to recommendations for repair versus alternative treatments such as round window plugging.

Patients with symptoms of dizziness may present to a wide range of medical services. Awareness of the full breadth of possible diagnoses is thus helpful in managing dizzy patients. This chapter provides a comprehensive review of systemic diseases that may contribute to the complex symptom of dizziness and provide a review of recent advances in each field.

Videonystagmography (VNG) and posturography are two vestibular assessment techniques that are still in use today. VNG: VNG allows clinicians to observe and record eye movements in real-time. Compared with electronystagmography (ENG), VNG tracings are more detailed and can capture subtle clinical findings. The utility of the monothermal caloric screen has been proposed in various studies. When appropriate cut-offs are used, the monothermal screen can be completed with a low false-negative rate. Air is often used as a medium for caloric testing, though not without some controversy. When air and water are compared, the response magnitudes for air are consistently smaller than for water. However, the overall classification of the result appears to be generally the same regardless of the caloric medium used. Posturography: Concerns have been raised about the reliability and validity of posturographic measurements. Approaches and analysis techniques vary widely, and there is little consensus regarding the best approaches for assessment or interpretation. There is a need for standardized protocols. The portable and low-cost Nintendo Wii Balance Board (WBB) has inspired a surge in publications looking at the validity of the system for quantifying posturography and for balance training; preliminary findings are very promising.

Recurrent hypopharyngeal cancer (rHPC) is a high-risk fatal disease associated with poor prognosis and high risk of complications in patients who are suitable to undergo salvage treatment. The treatment of such patients should be managed by a dedicated multidisciplinary team, most frequently a tertiary centre. and with the agreement of the patient. Close follow-up is crucial in achieving early detection and being able to treat the recurrence with curative intention. When persistent or recurrent disease is suspected, cross-sectional computed tomography imaging (CT) and positron emission tomography-CT scanning followed by panendoscopy with biopsies are the initial steps that need to be done in order to confirm diagnosis and accurate staging. The current treatment modality, which results in the best survival outcomes for rHCP is surgery. For most suitable patients, total pharyngolaryngectmy remains the best surgical modality, although open partial surgery OPS and transoral surgery are options for a small number of patients who have recurrences following treatment of an early stage disease. Free tissue transfer flaps or pedicled myocutaneous flaps will be necessary for most patients to reconstruct the excised pharynx. When making such a treatment plan it is most important to explain to each patient of the likely outcome both in terms of quantity and quality of life expectation. Many factors that are likely to increase the risk of treatment complications have been reported and are best anticipated and avoided. It is essential to perform a thorough preoperative assessment, follow a tried and trusted protocoled surgical plan and to have established enhanced recovery pathways for postoperative care that is available.

There has been a general shift in the treatment of hypopharyngeal cancer from open surgical techniques (either radical or partial "organ" preserving) toward non-surgi cal "organ preserving" strategies (radiotherapy [RT] or chemoradiotherapy [CRT]) and minimally invasive transoral laser microsurgery (TLM) or transoral robotic surgery (TORS). Oncologic outcomes reported are comparable whatever modality is chosen, but better functional outcomes are observed in the RT/CRT and TLM/TORS-treated patients. Because of the high rate of second primary malignancies, which influences overall survival, one could favor an up-front transoral surgical procedure as a primary treatment modality for early hypoharyngeal carcinoma, leaving the (chemo)radiotherapeutic option open for treatment of a likely later emerging second primary. However, the TLM and TORS studies report a high rate of adjuvant irradiation-based treatment for close or positive margin excisions. Concerning post-treatment functionality, both RT/CRT and TLM/TORS yield satisfactory results, especially when compared to the open surgical procedures, but it remains unclear which of these options will result in the long-term best laryngopharyngeal functional outcome. There is a need for multi-institutional randomized controlled trials comparing the long term oncologic and functional outcomes of up-front minimal invasive transoral surgery with/without adjuvant treatment, to a primary non-surgical organ preservation treatment.

The bedside head impulse, first described nearly 20 years ago, is the single most useful clinical test of the human vestibulo-ocular reflex (VOR). The video head impulse test (vHIT), its laboratory counterpart, now enables the objective assessment of the VOR. We examine how the vHIT can be utilized in three common clinical scenarios: the acute vestibular syndrome, recurrent spontaneous vertigo, and chronic imbalance. Combined with vestibular evoked myogenic potentials (VEMPs), vHIT enables assessment of all five vestibular end-organs by a clinician within the clinic itself.