Voice rehabilitation using provox following total laryngectomy in Bahrain: a preliminary report on 5 cases

Evaluate the cases of total laryngectomy, with voice prosthesis insertion for voice rehabilitation. Retrospective study. Salmaniya Medical Complex, Bahrain. Five medical records with laryngeal carcinoma were treated with either total laryngectomy alone, or with radiotherapy and/or chemotherapy. Four [4], [80%] males and 1 [20%] female. Among these were 4 [80%] Bahrainis and 1 [20%] non-Bahraini. Age varies between 40 years and 65 years [median 56.8]. Subjective evaluation of the voice at the voice clinic showed [good] voice in 3 cases [60%], [poor] voice in 1 case [20%], and [no] voice in 1 case [20%].The life of the prosthesis was calculated from 150 days to 1800 days [5 - 60 months], mean 735 days [24.5 months].The most common side effect that lead to replacement are Candida infection in 3 cases [60]. Surgical voice restoration by creating a tracheo-esophageal puncture and insertion of voice prosthesis as a primary procedure remains the method of choice for voice rehabilitation following total laryngectomy. We have used Provox voice prosthesis in Salmaniya Medical Complex Hospital for the last 5 years. We achieved good voice quality subjectively in 3 cases [60%] of 5 the reported cases

Laryngeal amyloidosis

Localized amyloidosis of the head and neck is a rare and benign disease of unknown nature. It affects males slightly more than females, between 40 - 60 years of age. Laryngeal amyloidosis is a very rare disease, accounting for less than 1% of all benign laryngeal tumors. It is characterized by the deposition of a homogeneous eosinophilic extra-cellular material in the laryngeal tissues, this material is protein in nature. We report a middle aged female, who presented with dysphonia and was found to have an isolated laryngeal amyloidosis. The report discusses the presentation, diagnosis, treatment with endoscopic carbon dioxide laser, the nature of the recurrence of the disease, and the need for the long term follow up to rule out any evidence of local recurrence and/or development of systemic involvement

Aetiology of sensorineural hearing loss in children in Bahrain: a 10 years study

This study was carried out on chidren presented with deafness, speech delay or both to the hearing impaired [deaf-mute] children clinic at Salmaniya Medical Complex in Bahrain. Full detailed medical and family history including pre, peri and post-natal history relevant to hearing impairment were obtained. Otolaryngological and Audiological assessment were conducted and recorded on preset proforma. Assessment was also conducted by developmental paediatrician and child psychiatrist when indicated. A total of 196 cases were studied over 10 years period from 1986 to 1996. Children with positive family history of deafness constituted 37.8% of the cases [genetic group]. Other aetiological groups showed the following distribution: cause unknown 33.6%, pre-natal 3.0%, peri-natal 5.6%, post-natal 16.3% and miscellaneous group 3.6% Our study showed that the main aetiological factors for deafness in children in Bahrain were the Genetic and Unknown factors at 71.5% This might be attributed to recessive genes,probably due to the high rate of consanguineous marriages of 60.7% among the sample subjects