Usefulness of High Resolution Computed Tomography scans in depicting the status of the middle ear structures

Background: Prior to surgery it is very important that the surgeon is fully aware, and he should have the clear picture as to the extent of the disease and the nature of the disease to give satisfactory surgical outcomes for the patient. HRCT (High resolution computed tomography) is one such guiding tool for the surgeon. The objective was to study usefulness of HRCT scan in attico-antral disease in depicting the status of the middle ear structures.Methods: A total of 30 patients were studied. HRCT temporal bone was performed by using SIEMENS EMOTION 16 slice CT machine in axial plane and coronal images were reformatted. Findings of HRCT temporal bone were recorded. Findings of mastoid exploration surgery were recorded. Report of HRCT of temporal bone was correlated with surgical findings and tabulated using percentages.Results: Surgery showed cholesteatoma in 26 (86.6%) patients. Epitympanum was involved in 29 (96.6%) patients in HRCT and 30 (100%) patients at surgery. Extension beyond middle ear cleft was seen in 4 (13.3%) patients in HRCT and 5 (16.6%) patients at surgery. Tympanic segment of facial canal was the most commonly involved, showing erosion in 10 (33.3%) patients in HRCT and 12 (40%) patients at surgery. Lateral SCC was the most commonly involved in bony labyrinth seen in 4 (13.3%) patients in both HRCT and surgery. Erosion of dural plate was seen in 6 (20%) patients in HRCT whereas 9 (30%) patients showed dural plate erosion at surgery.Conclusions: HRCT of temporal bone plays a promising role in pre-operative assessment of cholesteatoma as it depicts the extent of the disease and integrity of most of the middle ear structures.

Prognostic Implication of Associated Cleft Palate in Patients with Cleft Lip / 대한주산의학회잡지

OBJECTIVE: The objective of this study is to compare the pregnancy outcomes and postnatal developmental problems according to the types of cleft lip and/or palate, and to evaluate the increase of the risk of the presence of cleft palate. METHODS: Retrospective analysis was performed in 96 cases of cleft lip and/or palate that were delivered, aborted, or terminated at Seoul National University Hospital from January 1990 to July 2004. The cases of cleft lip and/or palate were categorized based on the Nyberg's classification, and cleft palate alone was added to it. According to the types, the frequencies of associated anomaly and chromosomal anomaly were assessed, and the frequencies of termination, spontaneous abortion, fetal death in utero, and infant death were compared. When long-term follow-up was possible among the surviving infants, we compared the frequencies of ventilatory tube insertion into the middle ear, hearing problem, and speech-language problem. We evaluated the increase of the risk in the presence of cleft palate. RESULTS: Associated anomalies were present in 23.7% (9/38) of cases with cleft lip alone and in 55.1% (32/58) of those with cleft palate. The most common associated anomaly was cardiac anomaly. The surviving infants with cleft palate showed significantly higher rates of ventilatory tube insertion (70.0% [14/20] vs 3.1% [1/32]) and speech-language problem (42.1% [8/19] vs 10.7 % [3/28]) than those with cleft lip alone. The presence of cleft palate increased the risk of occurrence of associated anomaly (OR 3.97), termination (OR 5.20), infant death (OR 12.96), ventilatory tube insertion (OR 72.33), and speech-language problem (OR 6.06). CONCLUSION: Associated cleft palate in patients with cleft lip has a poor impact on pregnancy outcomes, middle ear disease, and speech-language problem. Therefore, during the prenatal screening ultraso-nography, the careful examination should be directed for the detection of cleft palate in cases with cleft lip.

Recent trends in incidence and management of cleft lip and palate