Claim validity of print advertisements found in otolaryngology journals.

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the accuracy and scientific evidence supporting product claims made in print advertisements within otolaryngology journals. DESIGN: Cross-sectional survey with literature review and multiple-reviewer evaluation. Fifty claims made within 23 unique advertisements found in prominent otolaryngology journals were selected. References to support the claims were provided within the advertisements or obtained through direct request to the manufacturer. Five academic otolaryngologists with distinct training and geographic practice locations reviewed the claims and supporting evidence. Each physician had substantial experience as an editorial reviewer, and several had specific training in research methodology and scientific methods. RESULTS: Of the 50 claims, only 14 were determined to be based on strong evidence (28%). With regard to the supporting references, 32 references were published sources (76%), while 3 references were package inserts and/or prescribing information (7%). Interobserver agreement among the reviewers overall was poor; however, when 3 or more of the reviewers were in agreement, only 10% of the claims were deemed correct (n = 5). Reviewers also noted that only 6% of the claims were considered well supported (n = 3). CONCLUSION: Advertisers make claims that appear in respectable journals, but greater than half of the claims reviewed were not supported by the provided reference materials.

Tracheotomy: historical review.

The authors review the ancient history of tracheotomy and bring the subject up to date (2008) by including the modern history of this procedure. In the past 60 years, there have been many advances in the knowledge of respiratory function that have been utilized to expand applications of the tracheotomy procedure. Improvements in the care of tracheotomized patients and the application of modifications in the available variety of tubes and ancillary equipment and procedures have made this a much more effective and widely utilized way of caring for the pulmonary cripple as well as utilizing it in the classical fixed obstruction of the upper airway.

History of voice rehabilitation following laryngectomy.

INTRODUCTION: The history of voice rehabilitation following laryngectomy is as long as the history of laryngectomy itself. The multitude of methods which have been employed to reduce the disability associated with the loss of the larynx, illustrate the difficulty of finding an optimal method of reestablishing verbal communication while preserving the ability to breathe and swallow. MATERIAL AND METHODS: The world literature was reviewed using various Internet and medical search engines and library facilities. Landmark articles were identified and summarized. RESULTS: A coherent history of voice rehabilitation following laryngectomy was constructed. DISCUSSION: The methods employed to reestablish voice after extirpation of the larynx may be grouped into the categories of: esophageal speech, surgical methods of creating competent tracheo-pharyngeal shunts to create lung powered voice with and without the use of prosthetic devices to prevent aspiration, "near-total" resection of the larynx with dynamic phonatory shunt, and the use of external pneumatic or electrical devices to create sound which is then transmitted through the oral cavity and pharynx. CONCLUSION: For the past two decades, simple shunt devices inserted either primarily, at the time of laryngectomy, or later as a secondary procedure, have mainly supplanted the other methods of voice rehabilitation, with the exception of an occasional patient who has acquired good esophageal speech, or for whom external devices may be the only practical method of voice production.

An outline of the history of head and neck oncology.

This review analyzes the development of head and neck oncology as outlined in medical history articles. A systematic literature survey was conducted with the search engines "Google Scholar" and "PubMed" and the retrieved publications were cross-referenced. In addition, books and, when possible, original sources were consulted. While most of the material was obtained from publications from the modern era reviewing historical data, some of the information was derived from original source material. The obtained articles on the history of cancer were then analyzed for details on head and neck oncology. The cradle of oncology was located in ancient Egypt and Greece. The search showed that the first tumors treated in the head and neck were either cutaneous malignancies or cancers on the mucosal surfaces of the oral cavity. The origin, diagnosis and treatment of more deeply situated tumors of the larynx and hypopharynx remained obscure for many centuries. The medieval age brought little progress to medicine in general, and in head and neck oncology in particular, due to religious concerns. Renaissance medicine was characterized by advances in medicine and oncology made by systematic dissection studies of normal and pathologic anatomy. The 19th and 20th century reflect the development of head and neck oncology in the era of science based medicine. Almost all of our current understanding of head and neck oncology, our diagnostic methods and treatment strategies have been developed in these two centuries. The analysis showed that many oncologic problems, which occupy our minds today, were also concerns of our medical ancestors.

European surgeons were the first to perform neck dissection.

The history of the surgical treatment of cervical lymph node metastases began in the 19th century, and, unfortunately, the initial attempts at surgical treatment of neck metastases were disastrous. Although some European surgeons reported few cases of radical en bloc dissection, the first successful surgical procedure was performed and described in detail by Franciszek Jawdynski, a Polish surgeon, in 1888. George Washington Crile popularized and illustrated radical en bloc neck dissection in the early 20th century.

James Barrett Brown (1899-1971), head and neck surgeon of a half century ago.

This article summarizes the life and work of James Barrett Brown, MD (1899-1971), a plastic surgeon from St Louis, Mo, whose many contributions to the knowledge of surgery include his pioneering use of large split-thickness skin grafts to resurface defects. Along with a coauthor, he published an excellent book on radical neck dissection in 1954 (Neck Dissections, published by Charles C. Thomas, Springfield, Ill). Brown was a leading figure in the organization of high-quality plastic surgical care to injured soldiers in World War II. His training program in plastic surgery at Barnes Hospital in St Louis provided education to many leaders in the field. He received a number of honors for his many accomplishments.