Yosef P. Krespi

Experience with immediate and delayed mandibular reconstruction

The functional disability and cosmetic deformity after jaw and neck dissection can be very severe due to soft tissue and mandibular loss. Reconstruction of the mandible alone without soft tissue coverage can be complicated with prosthetic exposure, infection and, finally, rejection. We attempted to reconstruct the mandible at the time of tumor resection in a group of patients, using titanium mesh with marrow, rib, scapular spine, and clavicle. We used myocutaneous flaps in order to obtain intraoral coverage of the mandibular grafts. In a second group of patients, delayed reconstruction of the jaw was performed 6 months to 2 years after tumor resection. Titanium mesh prostheses were used for reconstruction of the mandible in conjunction with myocutaneous flaps for soft tissue augmentation. Osteomyocutaneous flaps were also used. The results and complications in 54 patients are presented.

Laser Surgery for Vocal Cord Carcinoma Involving the Anterior Commissure

Endoscopic laser surgery is an established means of treatment for benign laryngeal lesions. Laser surgery for early (stages I and II) squamous cell carcinoma is still being tested. Treatment of glottic tumors extending to the anterior commissure is in itself controversial. Approximately 20% of all glottic tumors involve the anterior commissure, with only 1% of these lesions being purely anterior commissure tumors. The anatomy of the anterior commissure is such that an apparent T1 lesion may actually be a T4 lesion if it involves the thyroid cartilage. The distance between the anterior commissure ligament and the thyroid cartilage is only 2 to 3 mm. A preoperative computed tomographic scan can aid us in evaluating this space. Therefore, tumors of the anterior commissure present as a therapeutic challenge. Radiation therapy has proven to be inadequate, with a high rate of recurrence and increased risk for radiochondronecrosis. The literature with regard to radiotherapy varies widely as to survival rates. Conservation surgery has consistently demonstrated an 80% survival in T1 lesions. Recently, it has been suggested that laser surgery in the region of the anterior commissure might offer satisfactory results. We have found the opposite. We will report on five patients who underwent endoscopic laser surgery on T1 vocal cord lesions involving the anterior commissure. All of these patients had tumor recurrence and subsequently have undergone salvage surgery and/or radiation therapy. The difficulties associated with endoscopic laser surgery of the anterior commissure will be discussed with a supporting animal study.

Mediastinitis occurring as a complication of odontogenic infections

Mediastinitis occurring from a descending odontogenic infection occurs rarely. The diagnosis is sometimes difficult to make and is often delayed until the patient is in extremis. The physical examination is often nondiagnostic, but may include brawny edema of the neck and chest. CT scanning provides the most accurate diagnostic information. The treatment is always surgical, in combination with appropriate antibiotics. Five patients with mediastinitis secondary to odontogenic infections are presented, and the technique of transcervical drainage of the anterior and posterior mediastinum is reviewed.

The relationship between oral malodor and volatile sulfur compound-producing bacteria

Halitosis can be a crippling social problem, and standard dental treatments and mouthwashes often provide only temporary relief. The mouth is home to hundreds of bacterial species that produce several fetid substances as a result of protein degradation. Volatile sulfur compound (VSC)-producing bacteria colonizing the lingual dorsum have recently been implicated in the generation of halitosis. Detection of VSCs, such as methylmercaptan and hydrogen sulfite, via organoleptic and objective methods, can aid in the identification of their source. Following comprehensive evaluation for possible causes, most halitosis in patients seen in an ENT practice can be localized to the tongue. We review methods of diagnosis and treatment of oral malodor from the overgrowth of proteolytic, anaerobic, gram-negative bacteria on the crevices of the lingual dorsum. Bacteriologic analysis of biofilm and scraped specimens obtained from the lingual dorsum and other oral sites, primarily gingival pockets and tonsillar crypts, can identify VSC-producing bacteria. Porphyromonas, Prevotella, Actinobacillus, and Fusobacterium species are the most common organisms identified. Halitosis is an oral phenomenon, with almost no cases originating distal to the tonsils. Halitosis arising from the lingual dorsum secondary to overpopulated VSC-producing bacteria can be successfully managed with a combination of mechanical cleansing using tongue brushes or scrapes and chemical solutions containing essential oils, zinc chloride, and cetylpyridinium chloride.

Endoscopic Laser Arytenoidectomy Revisited

Arytenoidectomy is currently the most reliable method of treating patients with bilateral vocal cord paralysis. Although both endoscopic and external approaches have been described, the endoscopic laser technique is more desirable because it requires no incision and allows for the immediate assessment of airway size. Eleven patients with bilateral vocal cord paralysis treated by endoscopic laser arytenoidectomy were presented in 1984. At that time, 10 of the 11 patients had been successfully decannulated. Follow-up on that group of patients revealed that 7 of the 10 successfully treated patients remain decannulated with a good airway, although 2 of these patients required a revision procedure to excise a granuloma. One patient failed at 15 months and has failed two subsequent revision operations, and 2 patients have been lost to follow-up. Since 1984, 17 additional patients with bilateral vocal cord paralysis have been treated by the authors using the same endoscopic laser arytenoidectomy technique; all have been successfully managed, with a minimum follow-up of 3 years. The technique of this operation will be reviewed. This study demonstrates the clinical usefulness of endoscopic laser arytenoidectomy in the treatment of bilateral vocal cord paralysis.

Laser-assisted tympanostomy.

Laser‐assisted tympanostomy (LAT) was performed in 70 ears to ventilate the middle ear space without using a pressure‐equalizing tube. Using a CO2 laser attached to an operating microscope with a Microslad (microscope laser adaptor device), tympanostomies of 1.0 to 3.0 mm (average, 1.6 mm) in diameter were created and remained patent for an average of 3.14 weeks. Patency time was directly related to the size of the opening. Nearly all (97.9%) of the tympanostomies healed with no noticeable scarring and no persistent perforations. Seventy‐eight percent of patients at the Florida Ear & Sinus Center (FESC, Sarasota, Fla.) and 84% of patients at the Head & Neck Surgery Group (New York) showed no evidence of recurrent effusion after a minimum follow‐up of 3 months. LAT appears to be a safe, cost‐effective procedure which can easily be performed in an office setting when bloodless opening in the tympanic membrane is needed for either treatment or diagnosis using endoscopes.

Transmandibular exposure of the skull base

The combined transmandibular-transcervical approach to the skull base ensures a wide field exposure to the lateral and midline compartments of the middle cranial fossa with attendant vascular control. Splitting the lip and mandible in the midline and dividing the floor of the mouth structures along the lateral border of the tongue exposes the parapharyngeal space, infratemporal fossa (lateral compartment), and clivus, nasopharynx, and cervical spine (midline compartment). A variety of benign and malignant intracranial and extracranial skull base lesions have been treated using this approach.

Treatment of Laryngeal Sarcoidosis with Intralesional Steroid Injection

Laryngeal sarcoidosis presents with hoarseness, cough, and dysphagia. Shortness of breath due to upper airway obstruction may occur. Indirect laryngoscopy reveals mucosal edema and erythema, granulomas, and nodules. The supraglottic larynx is the most frequently affected area. Systemic corticosteroids can be used initially; however, with persistent symptoms and/or severe airway problems, intralesional steroid injections may be more effective, as in the six patients presented.

Combined therapy for vascular lesions of the head and neck with intra-arterial embolization and surgical excision.

Large extracranial arteriovenous malformations (AVM) are considered rare. Most of these lesions appear as soft tissue masses or as bleeding. Symptoms relate to the tumor site. The clinical diagnosis of AVM should be confirmed by selective angiography. The preferred technique for carotid angiography is selective catheterization by the retrograde femoral approach based on Seldingers method.

Sarcoidosis of the sinonasal tract: A new staging system☆☆☆★

Sarcoidosis is a chronic multisystem granulomatous disease that has a predilection for pulmonary and upper respiratory tract involvement. Because the initial signs and symptoms of sarcoidosis may be identical to those of other forms of chronic sinonasal inflammatory disease, these patients will often first seek treatment from an otolaryngologist. We present a series of 28 patients whose primary symptoms was involvement of a sinonasal tract. A new staging system is proposed to categorize the severity and sites of involvement and to guide the aggressiveness of therapy. Sarcoidosis should be considered in the differential diagnosis of inflammatory sinonasal disease.