Faculty Bibliography

The authors report experience with 10 cases of pharyngoesophageal replacement with tubed pectoralis major myocutaneous (PM) flap. Six patients had primary reconstruction following total pharyngolaryngectomy for cancer; the other 4 had severe pharyngoesophageal stenosis requiring resection and replacement following previous laryngectomy. Seven of the patients were octogenarians, 6 had been irradiated previously, and all were severely debilitated. Two patients died postoperatively of cardiac disease. The remaining eight regained satisfactory with lasting deglutition. Four fistulae healed spontaneously, and one postoperative stenosis responded to a single dilitation. The interval to swallowing was 10-21 days in nonirradiated patients and 3-13 weeks in irradiated patients. There was one local recurrence 6 months after resection; the other patients remained free of disease. The authors conclude that the tubed PM flap is a reliable technique for pharyngoesophageal reconstruction that is particularly useful in elderly and debilitated patients

The reported telephone usage by cochlear implant recipients has become a major issue of controversy. Although patients and clinicians report good communication skills via the telephone, no standardized tests have been used and no quantifiable results have been reported. In an effort to determine the extent to which our better-performing patients can use the telephone, we established a clinical protocol to assess their ability to recognize speech, taking into consideration the problems inherent in telephone testing. Eight cochlear implant recipients were administered the NU-6 Monosyllabic Word Test and the City University of New York Topic Related Sentences under the following listening conditions: soundfield in a soundproof suite and via telephone within the hospital, locally, and long-distance. Twenty-three percent of the patients implanted at New York University Medical Center demonstrated a significant degree of telephone communication ability

Internal maxillary artery ligation is effective in treating epistaxis. Occasionally a patient may continue to hemorrhage after this procedure. Evaluation of postoperative angiograms reveals several factors accounting for the failure of internal maxillary artery ligation. These factors include incomplete ligation of vessels, alternative dominance of vessels, and reconstitution of flow through collaterals. Eleven such patients have been successfully treated with angiography and embolization. There was one complication of skin slough in the region of the columella. Embolization is a useful modality in the management of these difficult cases

Bony hemangiomas of the zygomatic bone are rare. This report represents the tenth citing in the literature. The most common signs and symptoms include swelling and pain or tenderness. Diagnosis can be made by plain radiographic studies followed by CT scanning or MRI. The treatment of choice is surgical excision with a rim of normal bone around the tumor. Malignant degeneration has not been reported unless radiotherapy had been used

Eleven patients who underwent mandibular reconstruction with A-O plates were followed up for as long as 40 months. The patients underwent either immediate or delayed mandibular reconstruction. Nine patients had free cortical bone grafts included in the reconstruction. Complications in patients who underwent immediate reconstruction included loss of the bone graft due to infection, external and intraoral exposure of the reconstruction plate, pain, and infection. In the patients with immediate reconstruction, more than 50% of the bone grafts resorbed. There were less complications and minimal bone graft resorption in patients who underwent delayed reconstruction. The cosmetic results were initially good in both immediate and delayed reconstruction but deteriorated as more surgery was required for management of complications. At 40 months, 7 of 11 patients (5 of 9 with immediate reconstruction) had died of local recurrence, distant metastasis, or another primary tumor. No patients were rehabilitated prosthetically. We conclude that while A-O plating is technically easy and has a low perioperative morbidity rate, the long-term morbidity rate is high. This must be weighed against the benefits of the procedure and the probability that the patients will have a poor functional outcome

Angioedema that occurs in the head and neck may be a serious and possibly life-threatening condition. We present two cases of oropharyngeal angioedema associated with the use of angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors in patients with no underlying renal failure. Angiotensin-converting enzyme-inhibiting agents are now commonly used to control hypertension. Treatment of acquired angioedema is directed first at protecting the airway by careful observation, intubation, or if necessary, tracheostomy. The causative agent is withdrawn, and the patient is treated with antihistamines and steroids until the acute episode resolves. Although not used in our patients, the treatment of angioedema with subcutaneous epinephrine has been described. As more patients are treated with angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors, it becomes essential for the otolaryngologist to become aware of this potentially life-threatening complication

Teratomas of the head and neck are a particular type of developmental malformation or tumor that are composed of cells with a full range of histogenic potential. They occur almost exclusively in the newborn and infancy periods. Treatment is directed at complete surgical removal with preservation of normal anatomic structures