Speech Rehabilitation For 10 Alaryngeal Patients Using Tracheoesophageal Puncture And Prosthesis Insertion In Amir Alam And Imam Khomeini Hospitals 2002-2003

Background and Aim: Total laryngectomy following laryngeal cancer has many sequelae , that loss of voice is the most important of them. Tracheoesophageal puncture (TEP) and prosthesis insertion has evolved into the most widely used and accepted technique for vocal rehabilitation. Materials and Methods: 10 patients that underwent TEP in Amir Alam and Imam Khomeini hospitals from Feb. 2002 through Nov. 2003; were included in this study. Prosthesis insertion in 4 patients is primary and in 6 patients is secondary; and all patients are men. Results: The age of patients was between 50 to 70. 90% of patients had history of cigarette smoking and 10% of them had history of drinking alcohol. Salivary leakage was seen in 30% of patients that was improved with conservative management. Fluency of speech in 30% of patients and intelligibility of speech & voice quality in 40% of patients is good. Conclusion: We could conclude that TEP has less complication & better speech results of other vocal rehabilitation methods. Carefully selection of patients & size of prosthesis has important role in results of TEP

"Radiofrequency tonsil reduction: safety, morbidity, and efficacy in 20 patients in Amiralam university hospital "

Background: Radiofrequency has recently been used in treating tonsilar hypertrophy in adults. We evaluated the results of partial resection (volume reduction) of tonsil using this method. Methods: Twenty patients with tonsilar hypertrophy were enrolled in a quasi-experimental before-after clinical trial. Local anesthesia was achieved by utilizing lidocain spray and then injection of lidocain and epinephrine, then radiofrequency was performed at power=7-8w. Bleeding, pain and need for analgesics were assessed during, immediately, 4, 6, and 8 weeks after operation. Results: The mean pain scale was 2.68±2.11 according to (VAS) and the mean bleeding amount was 1.16±0.24ml during operation. The mean operation time was 7.81±2.56min. Ten percent of our patients did not have pain immediately after surgery while 55% complained of pains that did not warrant using analgesics and the remaining 35% experienced pains that were alleviated by analgesics. During and immediately after operation 95% of the patients experienced mild bleeding and only one patient (5%) had moderate bleeding (2-5ml). Mild bleeding was only reported in 10% of patients during the first 4 weeks after operation and was not seen in patients in following weeks. The grade of tonsilar hypertrophy decreased in all patients and the mean time of symptom disappearance was 7.81±0.36 in 8 weeks. Finally the mean satisfaction rate of the patients was 66.92±12.5% (ranging from 50% to 80%). Mild complications were reported in 15% of patients. Conclusion: Radiofrequency is a safe procedure with minimum possible complication rate for tonsilotomy

The coronavirus disease 2019: the prevalence, prognosis, and recovery from olfactory dysfunction (OD)

Background: Many patients with coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) complain from olfactory dysfunction (OD). Aims/objectives: To evaluate the prevalence, prognosis, and recovery from OD in COVID-19 patients. Material and methods: In this study, patients with COVID-19 symptoms who were referred to six different tertiary referral centres were recruited after positive results for COVID-19. All patients were assessed for a one-month follow-up after the initial diagnosis of COVID-19. Results: Three hundred and eleven patients with COVID-19 were recruited in the present study. Two hundred and seven patients (66.6) had a recent history of OD. One hundred and seventy-eight patients had experienced OD as a primary symptom intercurrent to other COVID-19 symptoms or solely. Sixty-nine patients had OD at the time of presentation to referral centres. Headache and nasal obstruction had significant relationships with recovery from OD in this subgroup, and the platelet count was the most important predictor for the recovery from OD. One hundred seventy-nine (86.4) patients were nearly or fully recovered from OD approximately a month after the onset of OD. Conclusion: Headache, nasal obstruction, and platelet count may have specific roles as prognostic factors in the recovery from OD. © 2020 Acta Oto-Laryngologica AB (Ltd)