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Practice Focus

Lecturer Warns Against Overuse of CRT: Says many early-stage laryngeal cancer patients overtreated

Chemoradiation therapy (CRT) for head and neck cancer is overused at some centers in patients with early-stage laryngeal cancer, and more care should be taken not to overtreat patients with therapy that can have toxic effects, said invited lecturer Jonas Johnson, MD, at the Annual Meeting of the Triological Society, held here on April 29 as part of the Combined Otolaryngology Spring Meetings.

New Tool Could Aid Decisions on Elective Neck Dissection: Fast polymerase chain reaction detects sentinel lymph node positivity

Quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (Q-PCR) can be a valuable tool in the operating room to determine whether head and neck cancer patients should go on to elective neck dissection, researchers said here on April 29 at the Annual Meeting of the Triological Society, held as part of the Combined Otolaryngology Spring Meetings.

Targeting Headaches: Trigger release surgery an option for patients with chronic migraine

Surgically releasing specific “trigger sites” may provide long-term relief for some sufferers of chronic migraine. According to a recent study published in Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery, 88 percent of patients who underwent surgical deactivation of targeted trigger sites reported at least a 50 percent reduction in the frequency, severity and duration of their migraine headaches five years later.

Middle Ear Implants Offer Potential: New breed of devices may stimulate compliance, experts say

For decades, otolaryngologists have been frustrated by the refusal of some patients with hearing loss to use hearing aids. Statistics on noncompliance vary, but there is general agreement that only about 20 percent to 25 percent of Americans with treatable hearing loss use hearing aids. The problem seems to be more acute for people with mild hearing loss: A consumer survey conducted by the nonprofit Better Hearing Institute in 2009 found that fewer than 10 percent of people with mild hearing loss use amplification and that even among people with moderate-to-severe hearing loss, only four in 10 use amplification.