Endolymphatic Sac Tumor

Masses occupying the retrolabyrinthine space are uncommon and most often represent paragangliomas, choroid plexus papilloma, endolymphatic sac tumors (ELSTs) or distant metastasis. ELSTs are rare, locally invasive tumors of the inner ear, with less than 300 cases reported in the literature. ELSTs are associated with von-Hippel Lindau (VHL) disease. Patients diagnosed with an ELST should undergo genetic testing for VHL disease, and individuals with confirmed VHL disease should be screened for ELST(s)

A Comparison of Initial and Subsequent Follow-Up Strobovideolaryngoscopic Examinations in Singers.

OBJECTIVES: Previous studies have identified abnormal findings in up to 86.1% of singers on initial screening strobovideolaryngoscopy (SVL) examinations. No studies have compared the prevalence of abnormalities in singers on their subsequent follow-up SVL. Our study evaluates the frequency of these findings in both the initial and subsequent examinations. METHODS: Retrospective charts and SVL reports were reviewed on students from an opera conservatory from 1993 to 2014. All students had initial screening SVL, but only students who later returned with acute voice complaints were included in the study (n = 51, 137 follow-up visits). Normal SVL was defined as an examination without structural or functional abnormalities and reflux finding score ≤7. Data were analyzed using the chi-square test. RESULTS: For initial examinations, 90.2% (including reflux) and 88.2% (excluding reflux) were abnormal. In follow-up examinations, 94.9% (including reflux) and 94.2% (excluding reflux) had abnormal findings, which included muscle tension dysphonia (40.1%), vocal fold (VF) masses (unilateral 48.9%, bilateral 30.7%), vascular abnormalities (unilateral 27.0%, bilateral 5.8%), sulcus (unilateral 17.5%, bilateral 5.1%), VF hypomobility (unilateral 36.3%, bilateral 5.9%), phase (30.6%) and amplitude (44.8%) asymmetries, and glottic insufficiency (49.3%). Follow-up examinations revealed a significant increase in laryngopharyngeal reflux (χ(2) = 7.043; P \u3c 0.05). CONCLUSIONS: We found a higher prevalence of abnormal findings compared with previous studies, which we attributed to a more inclusive definition of abnormal pathologies, improvements in SVL technology, and possibly increased experience with SVL interpretation. This high prevalence of abnormal findings in asymptomatic singers further supports the importance of baseline examinations

Consortium of Otolaryngology Journal Editors: Collegiality and Contributions

There is a new tradition in the otolaryngology publishing community that is unique to our specialty, so far as we know. Editors-in-Chief of otolaryngology journals in the United States, and intermittently some of our international colleagues such as the Editor of the Journal of Laryngology and Otology (England), sit down together twice a year to discuss topics of mutual interest, maintain lines of communication and friendships, and share perspectives on the evolution of otolaryngology—head and neck surgery and needs that our journals might help address. To establish these collegial, uninhibited, informative, and productive meetings, Dr Robert Ruben proposed the idea of a Consortium of Otolaryngology Journal Editors. During the consortium’s formative years, the organization was solidified and supported by Jonas Johnson who was Editor-in-Chief of Laryngoscope from 2003 to 2008 and whose journal funded our meetings. The editors have discussed many topics including standardization of terminology, duplicate publication and plagiarism, increasing physician interest and involvement in peer-review, peer-review education, new publication models and their implications for our colleagues, support for resident presentations at scientific meetings, innovations at individual journals that might prove useful for other journals, increasing international involvement in our journals, predatory journals, and other topics

Immediate and short-term effects of straw phonation in air or water on vocal fold vibration and supraglottic activity of adult patients with voice disorders visualized with strobovideolaryngoscopy : a pilot study

PURPOSE : The first purpose of this study was to investigate and compare the short-term effects after a semi-occluded vocal tract (SOVT) therapy session consisting of straw phonation (SP) in air or water on vocal fold vibration and supraglottic activity of adult patients with voice disorders, visualized with strobovideolaryngoscopy (SVL). The second purpose of this study was to investigate and compare immediate changes in the patients’ vocal fold vibration and supraglottic activity during SP in air or water, visualized with SVL. METHODS : Twelve adult patients with voice disorders (eight women and four men, mean age 52 years) were assigned randomly to one of two study groups: SP in air or SP in water. Immediately before and after a therapy session of 15 min, participants underwent a rigid SVL to determine the short-term effects of the SP session. At the posttherapy examination, flexible SVL while performing SP was added to determine the effects occurring during SP. The visual-perceptual ratings were performed blindly and in random order by three laryngologists, using the Voice-Vibratory Assessment with Laryngeal Imaging rating form for stroboscopy. RESULTS : Short-term effects after SP: After the SP-in-air session, the supraglottic mediolateral compression decreased significantly. The SP-in-water session led to significantly increased left vibrational amplitude. Immediate effects during SP: During SP in air, a significantly increased left amplitude and mucosal wave, and significantly decreased mediolateral supraglottic activity, were found. SP in water tended to decrease the vibrational amplitude during performance of the task. A trend toward higher anteroposterior supraglottic compression was observed during both SP in air and water, being more prominent in the latter. CONCLUSION : SP in air led to less false vocal fold adduction and consequently less hyperfunction. The small increment in anteroposterior supraglottic activity during SP in air and water might be related to epilarynx narrowing, an economic phenomenon associated with SOVT exercises. The effects on vibrational amplitude were rather ambiguous. The small reduction in amplitude during SP in water is expected to diminish vocal fold impact stress and therefore creates an ideal basis for voice therapy. The increment in amplitude and mucosal wave during SP in air might indicate insufficient supraglottic pressure to obtain the favorable effects of semi-occlusion. Whether or not the rise in amplitude after the SP-in-water session is due to voice efficiency or voice fatigue remains unknown. Future larger-scale investigation in subgroups of voice patients is needed to explore these hypotheses.http://www.journals.elsevier.com/journal-of-voicehj2023Speech-Language Pathology and Audiolog

Author Response to Tongue Edema Secondary to Suspension Laryngoscopy.

No abstract available