April 17, 2013 Benjamin J. Wycherly, MD; Matthew K. Steehler, MD; Hosai Hesham, MD; Kevin Burke, MD; Sonya Malekzadeh, MD
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Abstract
We conducted an experiment to compare collagen deposition in tracheal stenoses dilated with room-temperature balloons and stenoses dilated with balloons at a subfreezing temperature (-10°C). Six New Zealand white rabbits underwent endoscopic tracheal injury. Tracheal dilation was performed at 3 weeks postinjury with either a room-temperature balloon or a vascular cryoplasty balloon. Five surviving rabbits were sacrificed at either 2 weeks (n = 3) or 4 weeks (n = 2) postdilation (1 rabbit that was not able to tolerate dilation was euthanized during the procedure). A blinded pathologist graded histologic sections of the injured tracheas for collagen content. The tracheal collagen deposits in the 3 animals sacrificed at 2 weeks postdilation were all graded as moderate. However, at the 4-week postdilation examination, there was a marked difference in collagen deposition between the rabbit that underwent room-temperature dilation and the rabbit that underwent subfreezing dilation; while the former showed moderate collagen deposition, the deposition in the latter was only mild. In conclusion, this pilot study showed that tracheal dilation with balloon cryotherapy decreased collagen deposition in the injured airway of 1 animal. Larger studies are required to determine whether balloon cryotherapy improves the long-term patency of immature tracheal stenosis.
April 17, 2013 Farhad R. Chowdhury, DO; Kevin Hsu, DO; Robert T. Sataloff, MD, DMA, FACS
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Most small vocal process granulomas will resolve spontaneously if the primary insult is removed, but these lesions have a very high tendency to recur.
April 17, 2013 Brent L. Toland, MD; Rima A. DeFatta, MD; Robert T. Sataloff, MD, DMA, FACS
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Management of prolonged ulcerative laryngitis requires close observation with strobovideolaryngoscopy; therapy involves steroids, antibiotics, antifungal drugs, and antireflux treatment.
April 17, 2013 Munir Demir Bajin, MD; Ali Sefik Hosal, MD
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Abstract
Positron emmision tomography (PET) is successfully used to monitor malignancies. Unfortunately it is not tumor specific. We present a case with history of rectum cancer and lentigo maligna who underwent PET-CT which revealed an increased uptake in the larynx. What was first considered as a third pirmary turned out to be a Teflon granuloma.
March 24, 2013 Paul Lennon, MB BCh BAO, MRCS; Mohamed Amin, FRCSI; Michael P. Colreavy, FRCS(ORL)
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Abstract
We conducted a prospective study to assess how well parents ensured that their children received their prescribed analgesia following tonsillectomy. Our study was based on 69 cases of tonsillectomy that were carried out at our tertiary pediatric care center. Postoperatively, all patients were prescribed paracetamol (acetaminophen) on the basis of their weight; the standard pediatric dosage of this agent at the time of our study was 60 mg/kg/day. The parents were telephoned 2 weeks postoperatively to assess their compliance with this regimen. Of the original 69 patients who had been recruited, 66 completed the study-35 girls and 31 boys, aged 2 to 15 years (mean: 7.0; median 5.5). According to the parents, only 15 children (22.7%) received our recommended 60-mg/kg/day dosage and were thus determined to be fully compliant. Overall, parents reported a wide variation in the amount of drug administered, ranging from 12.5 to 111.0 mg/kg/day (mean: 44.8), indicating that parents often underdose their children. We recommend that more emphasis be placed on weight-directed, parent-provided analgesia during the post-tonsillectomy period.
