Journal Reviews
Long-term quality outcomes of bimaxillary surgery of obstructive sleep apnoea
This is a review of 12 patients initially two years postoperatively and again at least 17 years postop. Successful outcome of a decrease in apnoea-hypopnoea index (AHI) of greater than 50% was thought to be success. Eight of the initial...
Risks of tracheostomy in head and neck cancer
Tracheostomy is an accepted surgical procedure that is one of the oldest ways of securing the airway. It is widely accepted to protect the airway after big cases of head and neck cancer and especially following free flap reconstruction. It...
Rib grafts for mandibular reconstruction
The mandible provides support for the function of the lips, floor of mouth and tongue, and provision of oral competence and function such as swallowing, chewing and speech. Reconstruction of the mandible following ablation thus requires good bone stock to...
A superbly readable review of cleft orthognathics
It is a long time since I had any involvement with cleft surgery, but I do occasionally encounter cleft patients (presenting with other things), and trainees who will soon be asked to give a reasonable account of things that they...
Soft tissue changes following maxillary osteotomy, comparison of three computer programmes
This small group of seven patients had a Le Fort I advancement maxillary osteotomy with vertical repositioning and alar base cinch sutures. They were assessed with cone beam CTs three months preoperatively and one year postoperatively. A clinical comparison between...
Lymph node ratio in tongue cancer
This is an analysis of 88 patients treated in Switzerland between 2003 and 2012. All patients had a selective neck dissection and recurrence occurred in 25 patients. Overall and disease specific survival were 72% and 80%. They specifically looked at...
Infection in prosthetic temporomandibular joints
This is an overview from an internationally recognised temporomandibular joint (TMJ) surgeon. It is a comprehensive article highlighting that incidence is likely to be underestimated and prevention the main objective. Not surprisingly a lot of the conclusions are based on...
Temporary tracheostomies are not always necessary for head and neck free flap reconstruction
Complex head and neck cancer cases with reconstruction can be challenging due to the risk of loss of airway. Temporary tracheostomies are often used to protect the airway following complex oral and maxillofacial ablative surgery and reconstruction. However, while this...
Perioperative management of the head and neck cancer patient
The perioperative care of patients with head and neck cancer is complex and requires significant preoperative planning and patient education. The issues include analgesia, antibiotics, stoma and wound care, general and chest physiotherapy, thromboprophylaxis and nutrition. This article provides a...
To use or not to use: absorbable sutures for facial wounds
This systematic literature review looked at studies comparing facial skin closure with absorable versus non-absorbable sutures. Studies not published in English, or looking at areas other than the head and neck, and studies focused on suture technique rather than material...
Cycle helmets protective against facial injuries?
This is a meta-analysis completed by a maxillofacial unit on the South Coast of England. Nine studies from an initial literature review of 102 were included in the analysis. Cycling has been reported as the cause of 3-20% of facial...
Core or fine needle assessment in lymphadenopathy and salivary gland tumours
This paper from the Republic of Korea analyses 278 patients retrospectively, 112 of which underwent fine need aspiration and 166 core needle biopsies. Eleven patients had indeterminate fine needle aspiration cytology, six of whom had an additional core biopsy. The...
