Articles

Upper airway obstruction due to a change in altitude: first report in fifty years

Air travel mostly causes minor ear, nose and throat complaints. We describe a second report in literature of airway obstruction caused by a drop in atmospheric pressure during a routine commercial flight.

Authors: Oleksandr Butskiy and Donald W. Anderson

Brief electrical stimulation after facial nerve transection and neurorrhaphy: a randomized prospective animal study

Recent studies have examined the effects of brief electrical stimulation (BES) on nerve regeneration, with some suggesting that BES accelerates facial nerve recovery. However, the facial nerve outcome measurem...

Authors: Adrian Mendez, Hadi Seikaly, Vincent L. Biron, Lin Fu Zhu and David W. J. Côté

Erratum to: Adjuvant Radioactive iodine 131 ablation in papillary microcarcinoma of thyroid: Saudi Arabian experience

Authors: Khalid Hussain AL-Qahtani, Mushabbab Al Asiri, Mutahir A. Tunio, Naji J. Aljohani, Yasser Bayoumi, Hanadi Fatani and Abdulrehman AlHadab

Knowledge and risk perception of oral cavity and oropharyngeal cancer among non-medical university students

To assess non-medical university students' knowledge and perceived risk of developing oral cavity and oropharyngeal cancer.

Authors: Nosayaba Osazuwa-Peters and Nhial T. Tutlam

Endoscopic ear surgery in Canada: a cross-sectional study

Endoscopic ear surgery is an emerging technique with recent literature highlighting advantages over the traditional microscopic approach. This study aims to characterize the current status of endoscopic ear su...

Authors: Michael Yong, Tamara Mijovic and Jane Lea

Epistaxis in hereditary hemorrhagic telangiectasia: an evidence based review of surgical management

Patients with Hereditary Hemorrhagic Telangiectasia (HHT) frequently present with epistaxis. Up to 98 % of these patients will have epistaxis at some point in their life. There are multiple ways to deal with t...

Authors: Christopher J. Chin, Brian W. Rotenberg and Ian J. Witterick

Acoustic rhinometry and video endoscopic scoring to evaluate postoperative outcomes in endonasal spreader graft surgery with septoplasty and turbinoplasty for nasal valve collapse

Nasal obstruction is a common complaint seen by otolaryngologists. The internal nasal valve (INV) is typically the narrowest portion of the nasal cavity, and if this area collapses on inspiration the patient e...

Authors: Bree Erickson, Robert Hurowitz, Caroline Jeffery, Khalid Ansari, Hamdy El Hakim, Erin D. Wright, Hadi Seikaly, Sam R. Greig and David W. J. Côté

Tympanoplasty—conchal cavum approach

The three well recognized tympanoplasty approaches: permeatal, postaural, and endaural, each have advantages and disadvantages. The permeatal approach is suitable only for ears with adequate canal size. The po...

Authors: S. Christopher Man and Desmond A. Nunez

Technique modifications for septodermoplasty: an illustrative case

Hereditary hemorrhagic telangiectasia (HHT) is an autosomal dominant disease that results in telangiectasia of the sinonasal tract, gastro-intestinal tract as well as possible arteriovenous malformations of th...

Authors: Mark Bastianelli and Shaun J. Kilty

Detection of bacteria in middle ear effusions based on the presence of allergy: does allergy augment bacterial infection in the middle ear?

Bacterial infection, Eustachian tube dysfunction, allergies, and immunologic factors are major causes of otitis media with effusion (OME). However, the exact pathogenesis of OME is still unclear. This study ev...

Authors: Woo Jin Kim, Byung-Guk Kim, Ki-Hong Chang and Jeong-Hoon Oh

Evaluating the referral preferences and consultation requests of primary care physicians with otolaryngology – head and neck surgery

No literature exists which examines referral preferences to, or the consultation process with, Otolaryngology. In a recent Canadian Medical Association nation-wide survey of General Practitioners and Family Ph...

Authors: John R. Scott, Eric Wong and Leigh J Sowerby

Endoscopic Dacryocystorhinostomy (DCR): a comparative study between powered and non-powered technique

Dacrocystorhinostomy (DCR) is an operation used to treat nasolacrimal duct obstruction. Essentially there are two approaches: external and endoscopic. Several modalities are used in endoscopic DCR; all aiming ...

Authors: Islam Herzallah, Bassam Alzuraiqi, Naif Bawazeer, Osama Marglani, Ameen Alherabi, Sherif K. Mohamed, Khalid Al-Qahtani, Talal Al-Khatib and Abdullah Alghamdi

Erratum to: Outcome analysis of 215 patients with parotid gland tumors: a retrospective cohort analysis

Authors: Boban M. Erovic, Manish D. Shah, Guillem Bruch, Meredith Johnston, John Kim, Brian O’Sullivan, Bayardo Perez-Ordonez, Ilan Weinreb, Eshetu G. Atenafu, John R. de Almeida, Patrick J. Gullane, Dale Brown, Ralph W. Gilbert, Jonathan C. Irish and David P. Goldstein

Ototoxicity of acetic acid on the guinea pig cochlea

To evaluate the ototoxicity of acetic acid solutions.

Authors: Takafumi Yamano, Hitomi Higuchi, Takashi Nakagawa and Tetsuo Morizono

Incidence of cutaneous malignant melanoma by socioeconomic status in Canada: 1992–2006

There are no nationwide studies documenting changes in cutaneous malignant melanoma incidence or association of incidence with socioeconomic status (SES) in Canada. We sought to determine whether melanoma inci...

Authors: Stephanie E. Johnson-Obaseki, Varant Labajian, Martin J. Corsten and James T. McDonald

Local molecular analysis of indeterminate thyroid nodules

Thyroid nodules are common but only a minority are malignant. Molecular testing can assist in helping determine whether indeterminate nodules are suspicious for malignancy or benign. The objective of the study...

Authors: Mandeep S. Gill, Smriti Nayan, Linda Kocovski, Jean-Claude Cutz, Stuart D. Archibald, Bernard S. Jackson, James E. M. Young and Michael K. Gupta

Adjuvant Radioactive iodine 131 ablation in papillary microcarcinoma of thyroid: Saudi Arabian experience

Papillary Microcarcinoma (PMC) of thyroid is a rare type of differentiated thyroid cancer (DTC), which according to the World Health Organization measures 1.0 cm or less. The gold standard of treatment of PMC ...

Authors: Khalid Hussain AL-Qahtani, Mushabbab Al Asiri, Mutahir A. Tunio, Naji J. Aljohani, Yasser Bayoumi, Hanadi Fatani and Abdulrehman AlHadab

Identification of altered protein abundances in cholesteatoma matrix via mass spectrometry-based proteomic analysis

Cholesteatoma are cyst-like structures lined with a matrix of differentiated squamous epithelium overlying connective tissue. Although epithelium normally exhibits self-limited growth, cholesteatoma matrix ero...

Authors: Derrick R. Randall, Phillip S. Park and Justin K. Chau

Computerized tomography based tumor-thickness measurement is useful to predict postoperative pathological tumor thickness in oral tongue squamous cell carcinoma

Tumor thickness has been shown in oral tongue squamous cell carcinoma (OTSCC) to be a predictor of cervical metastasis. The postoperative histological measurement is certainly the most accurate, but it would b...

Authors: J. Madana, Frederick Laliberté, Grégoire B. Morand, Deeke Yolmo, Martin J. Black, Alex M. Mlynarek and Michael P. Hier

“Clinicopathological features and treatment outcomes of differentiated thyroid cancer in Saudi children and adults”

Age is an important prognostic factor in differentiated thyroid cancer (DTC). Our aim was to evaluate differences in clinicopathological features and treatment outcomes among children and adult patients with DTC.

Authors: Khalid Hussain AL-Qahtani, Mutahir A. Tunio, Mushabbab Al Asiri, Naji J. Aljohani, Yasser Bayoumi, Khalid Riaz and Wafa AlShakweer

The Allen’s test: revisiting the importance of bidirectional testing to determine candidacy and design of radial forearm free flap harvest in the era of trans radial endovascular access procedures

The radial forearm free flap is a workhorse free flap. The radial artery, which supplies it, is increasingly being used for endovascular access. A complication of this is radial artery occlusion. Although ofte...

Authors: Andrew Foreman, John R. de Almeida, Ralph Gilbert and David P. Goldstein

The usefulness of routine histopathology of bilateral nasal polyps – a systematic review, meta-analysis, and cost evaluation

Controversy regarding the usefulness of routine histopathological examination of bilateral nasal polyps removed during endoscopic sinus surgery to identify occult diagnoses still exists. There is a paucity of ...

Authors: Jay SM Wong, Stephanie Hoffbauer, David H Yeh, Brian Rotenberg, Michael Gupta and Doron D Sommer

Algorithm based patient care protocol to optimize patient care and inpatient stay in head and neck free flap patients

To determine if rigid adherence (where medically appropriate) to an algorithm/checklist-based patient care pathway can reduce the duration of hospitalization and complication rates in patients undergoing head ...

Authors: Daniel A. O’Connell, Brittany Barber, Max F. Klein, Jeff Soparlo, Hani Al-Marzouki, Jeffrey R. Harris and Hadi Seikaly

3-phase dual-energy CT scan as a feasible salvage imaging modality for the identification of non-localizing parathyroid adenomas: a prospective study

Accurate pre-operative imaging of parathyroid adenomas (PAs) is essential for successful minimally invasive surgery; however, rates of non-localizing PAs can be as high as 18 %. Multiphasic dual-energy CT (DEC...

Authors: Michael Roskies, Xiaoyang Liu, Michael P. Hier, Richard J. Payne, Alex Mlynarek, Veronique Forest, Mark Levental and Reza Forghani

Outcome analysis of 215 patients with parotid gland tumors: a retrospective cohort analysis

To identify prognostic factors in patients with parotid gland carcinomas who were treated at the Princess Margaret Hospital.

Authors: Boban M. Erovic, Manish D. Shah, Guillem Bruch, Meredith Johnston, John Kim, Brian O’Sullivan, Bayardo Perez-Ordonez, Ilan Weinreb, Eshetu G. Atenafu, John R. de Almeida, Patrick J. Gullane, Dale Brown, Ralph W. Gilbert, Jonathan C. Irish and David P. Goldstein

Surgeon-performed ultrasound guided fine-needle aspirate biopsy with report of learning curve; a consecutive case-series study

Fine-needle aspiration biopsy has become the standard of care for the evaluation of thyroid nodules. More recently, the use of ultrasound guided fine-needle aspiration biopsy (UG-FNAB) has improved adequacy of...

Authors: Vinay T. Fernandes, Robert J. De Santis, Danny J. Enepekides and Kevin M. Higgins

Erratum to: Transoral laser microsurgery for the treatment of oropharyngeal cancer: the Dalhousie University experience

Authors: Jonathan C. Melong, Matthew H. Rigby, Martin Bullock, Robert D. Hart, Jonathan R.B. Trites and S. Mark Taylor

Face and content validity of a virtual-reality simulator for myringotomy with tube placement

Myringotomy with tube insertion can be challenging for junior Otolaryngology residents as it is one of the first microscopic procedures they encounter. The Western myringotomy simulator was developed to allow ...

Authors: Caiwen Huang, Horace Cheng, Yves Bureau, Sumit K. Agrawal and Hanif M. Ladak

Transoral laser microsurgery for the treatment of oropharyngeal cancer: the Dalhousie University experience

The optimal treatment strategy for oropharyngeal squamous cell carcinoma is highly debated. However, growing evidence supports the use of minimally invasive techniques, such as transoral laser microsurgery (TL...

Authors: Jonathan C. Melong, Matthew H. Rigby, Martin Bullock, Robert D. Hart, Jonathan R.B. Trites and S. Mark Taylor

Depression as a predictor of postoperative functional performance status (PFPS) and treatment adherence in head and neck cancer patients: a prospective study

Head and neck cancer (HNC) is a debilitating disease due in part to its effects on function, including speech, swallowing, and cosmesis. Previous studies regarding depression in HNC have focused on demographic...

Authors: Brittany Barber, Jace Dergousoff, Margaret Nesbitt, Nicholas Mitchell, Jeffrey Harris, Daniel O’Connell, David Côté, Vincent Biron and Hadi Seikaly

Correlation of PET-CT nodal SUVmax with p16 positivity in oropharyngeal squamous cell carcinoma

The incidence of human papillomavirus (HPV)-related oropharyngeal squamous cell carcinoma (OPSCC) has been rising in recent years. Given the clinical impact of HPV/p16 positivity in OPSCC, identifying surrogat...

Authors: Jessica Clark, Caroline C. Jeffery, Han Zhang, Tim Cooper, Daniel A. O’Connell, Jeffrey Harris, Hadi Seikaly and Vincent L. Biron

Incidence of differentiated thyroid cancer in Canada by City of residence

Thyroid cancer incidence in Canada is increased in high socioeconomic groups, and in urban compared with rural areas. The objective of this study was to analyze patterns in thyroid cancer incidence across Cana...

Authors: Martin J. Corsten, Matthew Hearn, James Ted McDonald and Stephanie Johnson-Obaseki

Preoperative vocal cord paralysis and its association with malignant thyroid disease and other pathological features

Vocal cord paralysis (VCP) is found in both benign and malignant thyroid disease. This study was performed to determine if the presence of preoperative VCP predicts malignancy.

Authors: Emily Kay-Rivest, Elliot Mitmaker, Richard J. Payne, Michael P. Hier, Alex M. Mlynarek, Jonathan Young and Véronique-Isabelle Forest

Optimal detection of hypothyroidism in early stage laryngeal cancer treated with radiotherapy

Hypothyroidism following radiation therapy (RT) for treatment of Head and Neck Cancer (HNC) is a common occurrence. Rates of hypothyroidism following RT for Early Stage Laryngeal Squamous Cell Carcinoma (ES-LS...

Authors: Graeme B. Mulholland, Han Zhang, Nhu-Tram A. Nguyen, Nicholas Tkacyzk, Hadi Seikaly, Daniel O’Connell, Vincent L. Biron and Jeffrey R. Harris

Serum microRNA profiling to distinguish papillary thyroid cancer from benign thyroid masses

Papillary thyroid cancer (PTC) is increasing in incidence. Fine needle aspiration is the gold standard for diagnosis, but results can be indeterminate. Identifying tissue and serum biomarkers, like microRNA, i...

Authors: M. Elise R. Graham, Robert D. Hart, Susan Douglas, Fawaz M. Makki, Devanand Pinto, Angela L. Butler, Martin Bullock, Matthew H. Rigby, Jonathan R. B. Trites, S. Mark Taylor and Rama Singh

The relationship between upper airway collapse and the severity of obstructive sleep apnea syndrome: a chart review

We sought to determine the ability of the endoscopic Mueller maneuver (MM) to predict the severity of OSAS based on upper airway (UA) collapse.

Authors: Russell N. Schwartz, Richard J. Payne, Véronique-Isabelle Forest, Michael P. Hier, Amanda Fanous and Camille Vallée-Gravel

A retrospective study of head and neck re-irradiation for patients with recurrent or second primary head and neck cancer: the McGill University experience

We report our experience with patients who received re-irradiation to the head and neck area for locoregional recurrences (LRR) or second primaries (SP) in a previously irradiated field.

Authors: Rolina Al-Wassia, Siavosh Vakilian, Crystal Holly, Khalil Sultanem and George Shenouda

A different entity: a population based study of characteristics and recurrence patterns in oropharyngeal squamous cell carcinomas

Cases of squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) of the oropharynx were compared with other head and neck cancer (HNC) anatomic subsites in patients treated at the provincial referral centre for HNC, the Nova Scotia Can...

Authors: Scott Murray, Michael N. Ha, Kara Thompson, Robert D. Hart, Murali Rajaraman and Stephanie L. Snow

Age dependent normal horizontal VOR gain of head impulse test as measured with video-oculography

The head impulse test (HIT) is a recognised clinical sign of the high frequency vestibulo-ocular reflex (VOR), which can be quantified with video-oculography. This measures the VOR gain as the ratio of angular...

Authors: Benjamin Mossman, Stuart Mossman, Gordon Purdie and Erich Schneider

Nasal Chondromesenchymal Hamartoma (NCMH): a systematic review of the literature with a new case report

Nasal chondromesenchymal hamartoma (NCMH) is a very rare, benign tumour of the sinonasal tract usually presenting in infants. We present a systematic review of NCMH cases alongside a case report of an adult wi...

Authors: Katrina Anna Mason, Annakan Navaratnam, Evgenia Theodorakopoulou and Perumal Gounder Chokkalingam

Bilateral vocal fold immobility: a 13 year review of etiologies, management and the utility of the empey index

Bilateral vocal fold immobility (BVFI) is a rare diagnosis causing dyspnea, dysphonia and dysphagia. Management depends on respiratory performance, airway patency, vocal ability, and quality-of-life priorities...

Authors: Maria K. Brake and Jennifer Anderson

Does a mineral wristband affect balance? A randomized, controlled, double-blind study

Having good balance is a facilitating factor in the performance of everyday activities. Good balance is also essential in various sport activities in order to both get results and prevent injury. A common meas...

Authors: Eva Ekvall Hansson, Anders Beckman and Liselott Persson

Methods considerations for nystagmography

1. To assess the reproducibility of eye movement velocity measurement using two methods: traditional electro-oculography (EOG) and infrared video-oculography (VOG) and,

Authors: Brian W. Blakley and Laura Chan

Immunoglobulin G4-related diseases in the head and neck: a systematic review

Immunoglobulin G4 related disease (IgG4-RD) is a poorly understood chronic inflammatory disorder affecting the middle-aged and elderly that can present to the otolaryngologist. We aim to summarize the current ...

Authors: Graeme B. Mulholland, Caroline C. Jeffery, Paras Satija and David W. J. Côté

Completion thyroidectomy: predicting bilateral disease

It is not uncommon for patients with indeterminate thyroid nodules to undergo diagnostic hemithyroidectomy. When the final pathology determines that the nodule is in fact malignant, patients require counseling...

Authors: Badr Ibrahim, Véronique-Isabelle Forest, Michael Hier, Alex M. Mlynarek, Derin Caglar and Richard J. Payne

The use of nasal packing post rhinoplasty: does it increase periorbital ecchymosis? A prospective study

Periorbital edema and ecchymosis following rhinoplasty is disturbing for both the patients and their surgeons. The study aim was to determine whether nasal packing after lateral osteotomies in rhinoplasty surg...

Authors: Ahmed M. Al Arfaj

Frontal recess anatomy in Japanese subjects and its effect on the development of frontal sinusitis: computed tomography analysis

Comprehensive understanding of frontal recess anatomy is essential for the successful treatment of patients with frontal sinus disease. This study was designed to determine the prevalence of specific frontal r...

Authors: Kazunori Kubota, Sachio Takeno and Katsuhiro Hirakawa

Predictors of round window accessibility for adult cochlear implantation based on pre-operative CT scan: a prospective observational study

Cochlear implantation has become a mainstream treatment option for patients with severe to profound sensorineural hearing loss. During cochlear implant, there are key surgical steps which are influenced by ana...

Authors: Edward Park, Hosam Amoodi, Jafri Kuthubutheen, Joseph M. Chen, Julian M. Nedzelski and Vincent Y. W. Lin

Optimal site for facial nerve transection and neurorrhaphy: a randomized prospective animal study

Since the first facial allograft transplantation was performed, several institutions have performed the procedure with the main objectives being restoration of the aesthetic appearance and expressive function ...

Authors: Adrian I. Mendez, Hadi Seikaly, Vincent Biron, Lin-fu Zhu and David W. J. Côté

Selectively false-positive radionuclide scan in a patient with sarcoidosis and papillary thyroid cancer: a case report and review of the literature

Radioiodine and Tc-99 m pertechnetate scans are routinely relied upon to detect metastasis in papillary thyroid cancer; false-positive scans are relatively rare. To our knowledge, no published reports exist of...

Authors: Nicole L Lebo, Francois Raymond and Michael J Odell