Nasal tip projection. Quantitative changes following rhinoplasty.

Fifty-one patients were enrolled in a study and underwent primary rhinoplasty. Serial nasal tip projection measurements were made preoperatively, intraoperatively, and 6 months postoperatively. Actual changes in measured nasal tip projection were evaluated with respect to preoperative goals and specific procedures used to accomplish these goals in the nasal tip. Several useful observations are made from these data: (1) The most important components of nasal tip projection in the postsurgical nasal tip are the medial crura, their attachment to the caudal septum, and the presence of additional cartilaginous grafts placed between the medial crura or beneath the crural feet. (2) Actual nasal tip projection will decrease postoperatively, unless measures to increase the length and strength of the medial crural segment are taken (ie, McCollough-modified Goldman tip procedure, cartilage struts, plumping grafts, etc), regardless of the preoperative goal. (3) The double-dome unit procedure is effective in narrowing the wide or bulbous lobule but alone does not permanently increase nasal tip projection. (4) Conservative tip procedures, such as a complete strip, result in decreased nasal tip projection and should therefore be used in patients in whom retrodisplacement of the nasal tip is the intended result.

Cranial bone grafts for post-traumatic facial defects.

Recent interest in onlay cranial bone grafts has shown it to be a preferred technique in the reconstruction of facial defects. This paper reports seven patients in whom outer table cranial bone grafts were used to reconstruct post-traumatic facial deformities. These included orbital and zygomatic deformities (2 patients), maxillary defects (2 patients), mandibular defects (2 patients), and nasal deformity (1 patient). A brief review of the development of membranous bone grafting for maxillofacial reconstruction is given. Good cosmetic results were obtained in six of seven patients with no evidence of graft resorption. One patient required removal of the graft because of inadequate soft tissue coverage. No patient suffered any significant donor site morbidity. In summary, this technique is extremely useful in treating post-traumatic bony deformities of the facial skeleton. The excellent graft survival and ease in harvesting the graft make this technique preferable to traditional endochondral grafts taken from the iliac crest and rib.

Pyoderma gangrenosum of the head and neck.

Pyoderma gangrenosum is an ulcerative skin disorder usually associated with an underlying systemic disease. Head and neck involvement is rare, but possibly more common than once thought. The etiology of this disease is unclear, but may be related to an abnormal immunologic response. There are no pathognomonic histologic or laboratory findings; the diagnosis is made by the clinical appearance of the lesions and disease course. Treatment consists of immunosuppression and local wound care in addition to a search for and treatment of an underlying primary systemic disorder. A case report and review of the literature is presented with discussion of common head and neck manifestations, the differential diagnosis, and treatment alternatives.

Two emerging perilymph fistula "syndromes" in children.

This paper proposes two relatively common "syndromes" seen in children with perilymph fistulas using illustrative case reports. One, a 2 1/2-year-old child with bilaterally symmetric progressive sensorineural hearing loss, was found to have bilateral oval and round window fistulas. The other was a child who presented originally with an unexplained unilateral sensorineural loss. It was only when hearing deteriorated in the opposite ear several years later that a perilymph fistula was suspected and confirmed by tympanotomy. The clinical presentations and other details of these cases diverge widely, but may represent two emerging syndromes of perilymph fistulas in children: 1. a congenital or hereditary predisposition, and the other, 2. sudden hearing loss in the "good" ear of children with an unexplained sensorineural hearing loss in the opposite ear.