The Management in Patients With Bilateral Vocal Fold Immobility: 15 Years' Experience at a Tertiary Centre.

OBJECTIVE: In order to correct the varying vocal fold positions to meet the various clinical requirements in patients with bilateral vocal fold immobility, we present pertinent surgical methods to treat them. MATERIALS AND METHODS: From 2005 to 2020, 115 patients diagnosed with bilateral vocal fold immobility were addressed for ventilation in 89 patients and for phonation in 26 patients. In the ventilation surgery group, all the neurogenic subjects received mere suture lateralization (SL) procedures and the mechanical ones underwent arytenoid release (AR) plus SL procedures if the cricoarytenoid joint fixation (CAJF) could be confirmed before operation. In the phonation group, neurogenic subjects received nonsurgical treatment and the mechanical ones underwent AR plus arytenoid adduction (AA) procedure. The decannulation rate and respiratory comfort rate for each subgroup will be calculated and the phonatory tests were conducted. RESULTS: In the ventilation group, 55% (49/89) of subjects received related surgeries. Mere SL offered 40 successful decannulation or respiratory comfort in 42 neurogenic subjects (95.2%). The single episode rate was high as 95%. An AR plus SL procedure also obtained 100% of decannulation or respiratory comfort with a single episode of surgical procedure if the CAJF could be confirmed preoperatively. In the phonation group, 15% (4/26) of subjects received appropriate surgeries. Single AR plus AA procedures also led to 100% (4/4) of the appropriate candidates serviceable sound. CONCLUSION: SL procedure keeping intact laryngeal mucosa usually offered permanent glottis enlarging effect or decannulation with a single episode of procedure. The use of arytenoid release for CAJF has led to remarkable advances in the ultimate surgical outcomes of both the ventilation and phonation in terms of decreasing revision surgeries. LEVELS OF EVIDENCE: level 4.

Assessment of Patient Outcomes After Adjuvant Vocal Fold Steroid Injection for Fibrosis After Microlaryngeal Surgery.

IMPORTANCE: Microlaryngeal surgery (MLS) is one of the most common procedures in laryngology; however, in cases of postoperative fibrosis, few remedial options are available. OBJECTIVE: To investigate the outcomes of vocal fold steroid injection (VFSI) as an adjuvant treatment for fibrosis after MLS. DESIGN, SETTING, AND PARTICIPANTS: Case series of 228 consecutive patients who underwent MLS for benign vocal lesions between January 2014 and December 2016 at a tertiary medical center. Adjuvant VFSI was performed in 25 patients (11%) with postoperative fibrosis, defined as severely decreased or absent mucosal wave on videolaryngostroboscopy (VLS) lasting for longer than 1 month postoperatively. Data were analyzed from July 1, 2018 to April 30, 2019. INTERVENTION: All adjuvant VFSIs were performed in the office under local anesthesia and were repeated monthly if the status of the mucosal wave did not return to normal or mildly decreased on the follow-up VLS. MAIN OUTCOMES AND MEASURES: The outcome parameters, namely, the 10-item Voice Handicap Index (VHI-10), smoothed cepstral peak prominence (CPP) of recorded voice samples, and mucosal wave status on VLS, were measured before and after MLS and after adjuvant VFSI. RESULTS: In this case series of 228 patients (72 men and 156 women; mean [SD] age, 42.8 [12.3] years), 25 had a decreased or absent mucosal wave after MLS, indicating postoperative fibrosis. Of these patients, 22 presented with deep-seated lesions that were removed using a microflap approach. After 1 course of adjuvant VFSI in 17 patients and 2 serial monthly injections in 8 patients, VFSI was associated with improved VHI-10 scores (mean, 24.4 points preoperatively, 22.1 points postoperatively, and 12.9 points after VFSI) that were comparable to the scores of the other 203 patients without vocal fold fibrosis after MLS (mean, 24.8 points preoperatively, 11.7 points postoperatively). Adjuvant VFSI was also associated with improved CPP (mean, 4.04 preoperatively, 4.23 postoperatively, and 5.11 after VFSI) that was comparable to the CPP of the other patients without postoperative fibrosis (mean, 4.33 preoperatively and 5.15 postoperatively). Overall, 19 (76%) of 25 patients with vocal fold fibrosis after MLS had normal (n = 11) or mildly decreased (n = 8) mucosal wave after adjuvant VFSI. CONCLUSIONS AND RELEVANCE: Adjuvant VFSI appeared to be associated with improvements in mucosal wave, voice quality, and subjective perception of dysphonia in patients with fibrosis after MLS, with outcomes comparable to those of the other patients without fibrosis. Adjuvant VFSI may be considered a rescue technique, reducing the rate of fibrosis after MLS from 11% to 3%.

A retrospective comparative study of endoscopic and microscopic Tympanoplasty.

BACKGROUND: This study compares endoscopic and microscopic tympanoplasty for the treatment of chronic otitis media (COM) without cholesteatoma. METHODS: This retrospective study included 153 ears (139 patients) treated surgically (endoscopic or microscopic tympanoplasty) for COM in the absence of cholesteatoma at our hospital between January 2008 and October 2015. The adoption of transcanal endoscopic ear surgery (TEES) or microscopic ear surgery (MES) was divided temporally (before and since 2014). Comparisons between these groups focused on the following: (I) surgical outcomes, including successful tympanic membrane healing and post-operative complications; (II) restoration of hearing; and (III) consumption of medical resources, including the duration of surgery and anesthesia. All patients had a follow-up period of at least 3 months after surgery. RESULTS: No statistically significant differences were observed between the two groups regarding surgical outcome or hearing restoration. TEES resulted in the successful healing of 96.2% of ear drums, whereas MES led to successful healing in 92% (p = 0.2826) of cases. The average hearing gains following surgery were 10.27 ± 6.4 and 12.43 ± 7.46 dB in TEES and MES, respectively. The consumption of medical resources in the TEES group was lower than that of the MES group (TEES versus MES) regarding the average operating time (87.8 ± 19.01 min (mins) versus 110.2 ± 17.0 (mins) (p <  0.0001)) and the mean duration of anesthesia ((for general anesthesia patients) (122.1 ± 21.25 mins versus 145.8 ± 16.88 mins) (p ≤  0.0001)). CONCLUSIONS: The results indicate that TEES can achieve surgical outcomes and hearing restoration comparable to those of MES. In addition, TEES appears to be associated with shorter surgical and anesthesia time, which makes it an ideal alternative for the management of COM without cholesteatoma. TRIAL REGISTRATION: This study was approved by the Institutional Review Board of the Cathay General Hospital. (CGHIRB No: CGH-P105012 ).

Acoustic-integrated dynamic MR imaging for a patient with obstructive sleep apnea.

Obstructive sleep apnea syndrome (OSAS) is caused by multi-level upper airway obstruction. Anatomic changes at the sites of obstruction may modify the physical or acoustic properties of snores. The surgical success of OSA depends upon precise localization of obstructed levels. We present a case of OSAS who received simultaneous dynamic MRI and snore acoustic recordings. The synchronized image and acoustic information successfully characterize the sites of temporal obstruction during sleep-disordered breathing events.

Gout with auricular tophi following anti-tuberculosis treatment: a case report.

BACKGROUND: Auricular tophi are firm deposits of monosodium urate in crystal form, which may slowly develop in subcutaneous tissue of the ear. Ear is not usual locations for gout tophi, but when this growth does occur, helix and the antihelix are common sites. CASE PRESENTATION: We present a 64-year-old man who had multiple painless nodules over bilateral helix. An excisional biopsy was performed. Hematoxylin-eosin staining of biopsy specimens revealed a proteinaceous matrix that surrounded dissolved crystals, consistent with gout tophi. Bilateral auricular tophi are not common and may resemble a number of other diseases including squamous cell carcinomas, Kaposi's sarcoma, epidermal and dermoid cysts, rheumatoid nodules. Biopsy should be performed to rule out malignancy. CONCLUSIONS: Tophi of the auricle are usually asymptomatic but can become inflamed and occasionally ulcerate through the overlying skin. Chronic tophaceous gout is treated with dietary control and medication. Surgical excision is performed under local anesthetic if symptoms progression or cosmetically deformity is concerned.