A Case of Dysplastic Nevus of the External Auditory Canal Presenting with Conductive Hearing Loss

A nevus which is a benign melanocytic neoplasm rarely occurs within the external auditory canal (EAC). A dysplastic nevus presents atypical features both clinically and histologically, and is important as a potential precursor for melanoma. We present a case of a 33-year-old female patient with a dysplastic nevus in her EAC. Physical examination revealed a protruding mass arising from the posterior wall of the left cartilaginous EAC. The mass showed clinically characteristic findings of a melanocytic nevus. The patient underwent excisional biopsy via a transcanal approach under local anesthesia. Histopathological examination revealed an intradermal nevus with atypical melanocytes without pleomorphism. There was no evidence of recurrence two years after surgical excision

Skin Prick Test Reactivity in Patients with Chronic Eczematous External Otitis

ObjectivesTo investigate the incidence of skin prick test (SPT) positivity in patients with eczematous external otitis.MethodsForty-six patients with eczematous external otitis and forty-four healthy volunteers were included in the study. All the patients were skin-tested by prick test. Reactions were assessed by the degree of redness and swelling and the size of the wheal produced.ResultsAccording to SPT positivity and total immunoglobulin E values, the difference between the study and the control groups was statistically significant (P<0.05). The most common skin reactions were against to mites and grasses in this study.ConclusionEczematous external otitis is perhaps the most difficult to treat of all forms of external otitis because the provocative agents usually remain undiagnosed. Patients suffering from eczematous external otitis symptoms should be investigated for allergens and be informed for prevention of the causative agents. SPT might be performed in cases of prolonged or treatment-resistant external otitis

Polyps in bilateral conchae bullosa

PubMed: 21229502[No abstract available

Sensorineural hearing loss after ossicular manipulation and drill- generated acoustic trauma in type I tympanoplasty with and without mastoidectomy: A series of 51 cases

PubMed: 26401668Recognized causes of high-frequency sensorineural hearing loss (SNHL) after tympanoplasty with and without mastoidectomy include acoustic trauma from manipulation of the ossicles, the noise generated by suctioning and, in the case of mastoidectomy, the noise generated by temporal bone drilling. We conducted a retrospective study to identify the effects of ossicular manipulation and mastoid drilling on high-frequency SNHL. Our study population was made up of 51 patients-20 males and 31 females, aged 10 to 59 years (mean: 28.5). Of this group, 26 patients had undergone a unilateral over-under tympanoplasty only (tympanoplasty group) and 25 had undergone a unilateral tympanoplasty plus additional mastoid surgery (mastoidectomy group). Bone-conduction audiograms were obtained pre- and postoperatively; the latter were obtained within 24 hours after surgery and again at 6 months of follow-up. In the tympanoplasty group, a significant SNHL, primarily at 2 kHz, was seen in 6 patients (23%) at 24 hours, but at 6 months there was no depression of bone-conduction thresholds. In the mastoidectomy group, a significant SNHL, primarily at 2 and 4 kHz, occurred in 12 patients (48%) at 24 hours, and bone-conduction deterioration was still present in 4 patients (16%) 6 months after surgery. The difference between the preoperative audiograms and the 6-month audiograms in both groups was statistically significant (p = 0.034). We conclude that (1) over-under tympanoplasty, which requires significant manipulation of the ossicles, can cause temporary SNHL after surgery, and (2) prolonged exposure to the noise generated by mastoid drilling can result in permanent SNHL. © 2016 Vendome Group, LLC All rights reserved

Sensorineural hearing loss after ossicular manipulation and drill-generated acoustic trauma in type I tympanoplasty with and without mastoidectomy: A series of 51 cases

Recognized causes of high-frequency sensorineural hearing loss (SNHL) after tympanoplasty with and without mastoidectomy include acoustic trauma from manipulation of the ossicles, the noise generated by suctioning and, in the case of mastoidectomy, the noise generated by temporal bone drilling. We conducted a retrospective study to identify the effects of ossicular manipulation and mastoid drilling on high frequency SNHL. Our study population was made up of 51 patients-20 males and 31 females, aged 10 to 59 years (mean: 28.5). Of this group, 26 patients had undergone a unilateral over-under tympanoplasty only (tympanoplasty group) and 25 had undergone a unilateral tympanoplasty plus additional mastoid surgery (mastoidectomy group). Bone-conduction audiograms were obtained pre- and postoperatively; the latter were obtained within 24 hours after surgery and again at 6 months of follow-up. In the tympanoplasty group, a significant SNHL, primarily at 2 kHz, was seen in 6 patients (23%) at 24 hours, but at 6 months there was no depression of bone-conduction thresholds. In the mastoidectomy group, a significant SNHL, primarily at 2 and 4 kHz, occurred in 12 patients (48%) at 24 hours, and bone-conduction deterioration was still present in 4 patients (16%) 6 months after surgery. The difference between the preoperative audiograms and the 6-month audiograms in both groups was statistically significant (p = 0.034). We conclude that (1) over-under tympanoplasty, which requires significant manipulation of the ossicles, can cause temporary SNHL after surgery, and (2) prolonged exposure to the noise generated by mastoid drilling can result in permanent SNHL

Changing trends in otorhinolaryngology publishing

The aim of this study is to compare the changes in impact factors and citation numbers of Open Access (OA) vs subscription-based (SB) journals between 1999 and 2016 and to explore the changing trends in ORL publishing. All data extracted from SCImago Journal and Country ranking (SJR) website have been used as input for statistical analysis. The chi-square test of independency was applied in order to understand whether the ratio of number of OA journals of ORL category have dramatically changed between years 1999 and 2016. Also, the years and impact factors of journals belonging to the OA and SB journals have been graphed separately and the changes of annual SJR ranks of both journal types have been compared using one-way Z-test. There was a significant difference as the proportion of OA Journals were not equal to the proportion of SB Journals throughout the years 1999 and 2016, and it showed the tendency to increase greater compared to SB Journals (p < 0.01). Although the overall level of impact factors of SB journals was generally high, by comparing two regression models, it was obvious that the level of increase of the impact factors of OA journals were significantly higher (p < 0.01). When choosing where to publish, it is important to consider the journal's visibility, cost of publication, IF or SJR of the journal and speed of publication as well as changing trends in medical publishing nourished by the Web of Science

The influence of smoking on success of tympanoplasty measured by serum cotinine analysis

PubMed ID: 17943299The aim of this study was to evaluate the effects of smoking on surgical outcome and hearing results in tympanoplasty by serum cotinine analysis as an objective method. Furthermore, type of grafting for the smoking patients has been investigated in a prospective cohort in a tertiary medical center. The overall success rate of long-term surgical outcome was 70.1% out of 77 tympanoplasty operations. On the basis of cotinine enzyme immunoassay, 56 patients had a serum cotinine measurement below 17.5 ng/ml and 21 patients above that. While the graft take rate in the non-smoking group was 76.8%, it was 52.4% in the smoking group and this difference was statistically significant (p = 0.037). While mean graft take rate in the temporalis fascia group was 25% for smokers, mean graft take rate in cartilage shield tympanoplasty group it was 88.9%, and for smokers it was 52.4%. Cotinine is a major metabolite of nicotine and is a reliable marker to differentiate smoking patients from non-smokers. Smoking status was found as a significant prognostic factor influencing the success rate of tympanoplasty negatively and the influence of a more stable grafting technique was demonstrated on smoking patients undergoing tympanoplasty procedure. © 2007 Springer-Verlag