Osteomyelitis as a complication of a tracheo-oesophageal puncture.

Two cases of osteomyelitis of the cervical spine complicating tracheo-oesophageal puncture are reported. There was considerable delay between onset of symptoms and diagnosis in both cases due to pre-existing cervical arthritis. Previous radiotherapy was felt to be a contributory factor in both cases.

Rhinologic surgery with the carbon dioxide laser.

Microscopic nasal surgery with the CO2 laser is easily performed. It offers the advantages of excellent hemostasis (even with coagulopathies), excellent healing, minimal discomfort and minimal complications. A wide variety of lesions may be excised, obliterated, or corrected in any age group. We report our experiences with 26 cases of rhinologic surgery with the CO2 laser. These cases represent a variety of pathologic lelsions including telangiectasias, papillomas, nasal polyps, synechiae and granulomas, rhinophymas, sebaceous adenomas, and an adenocarcinoma. This is the first comprehensive report of the use of this technique in nasal surgery.

Prognostic indicators in induction cis-platinum bleomycin chemotherapy for advanced head and neck cancer.

A complete response to induction cis-platinum bleomycin chemotherapy significantly increases the probability of local tumor control and overall disease-free survival. Factors that favor a good response to chemotherapy are tumor histology (well differentiated), location of the primary site (oral cavity and oropharynx), nodal status (N0) and size of the primary lesion (t3 better than T4). Increased cellular maturation after chemotherapy correlates with an improved clinical response. The importance of induction and maintenance chemotherapy in the treatment of advanced head and neck cancer still needs to be determined with larger randomized series. Reliable predictors of therapy outcome are needed for realistic treatment planning, especially when the potential morbidity is considered.