Herman Diamant

Decannulation difficulties in tracheotomized children.

The importance of proper procedure in decannulation is emphasized. The cannula has to be removed as early as possible. It has been shown in large series that, if decannulation cannot be performed in three to four days, decannulation difficulties are likely to arise. Some cases with long-standing tracheostoma illustrate this fact.

The Taste of Water

This paper is merely a preliminary report on certain electro-physiological experiments on the corda tympani nerve in the field of the taste physiology in man, concerning in particular the question of the possible existence of specific “water taste” fibres.

Possibilities in the Treatment of Severe Laryngeal Damage

At our department we have had two cases with extensive traumatic lesions of the larynx during the last years. Both cases were very complicated by rib fractures and lung complications. A female involved in a car-accident showed at the first examination no air-passage through the glottis. Everything was done to restore an airway. Still three years after the trauma the patient can not breathe properly. She denies further treatment.The other case concerns a man, 23, involved in a tractor accident. The larynx and the thorax were brushed. He got several rib fractures and a difficult shock which stopped immediate operation. Three weeks after the accident we started the restoring measures. There was no success, however, until we used a nylon-tube. After two months in place and after a laterofixation on one side, the result is excellent and the patient is in full work.

Analysis of Operations for Otosclerosis during a Period of three Years

A material of 176 patients operated from the 1st of January 1963 to the 31st of December 1965 is reported. 25% are examined two years after the operation, more than 60% are examined one year after the operation and 80% are examined 6 months after the operation. The patients are mainly operated with the method of the Penn-operation or the stapedectomi according to Schuknecht. A few cases are operated according to Shea or other variations. The two years results in the overall material shows good hearing in 80%.

Preoperative Measures for Tracheotomy in Severe Pseudocroup

During the one-year period from September 1960 through August 1961 a substantial rise in the incidence of severe pseudocroup was observed. Tracheotomy was required in 17 of the cases in this series. In our experience considerable value attaches to immediate administration of oxygen and air under positive pressure to assist the respiration and thus reduce the anoxia. Attention is drawn to the advisability of using intubation anesthesia for tracheotomy, with the aim of preoperatively raising the negative intrathoracic pressure, thereby lessening the danger of mediastinal emphysema and pneumothorax.As regards pulmonary ventilation and initial anesthesia in epiglottitis, emphasis is placed on the importance of measures designed to widen the entrance to the larynx and to prevent a backward and downward displacement of the epiglottis.In cases with supraglottic edema a slender, relatively firm tube is technically the simplest and best suited for intubation.In subglottic edema, on the other hand, it is advisable ...