Considerable controversy surrounds the subject of tympanoplasty in children. This prospective study looked at the results of type-I tympanoplasty in children. Forty-five children in the age group of five to 14 years were selected for the study. All these cases had a central perforation without any evidence of cholesteatoma. The ear to be operated had to be dry for at least six weeks before surgery. Type I tympanoplasty was performed on these patients with autograft temporalis fascia by either the underlay or overlay technique.The overall success rates in 45 operations evaluated one year post-operatively was 91.1 per cent. The age of the patient had no influence on the success rate. The two factors which adversely influenced the success rate were the presence of near total perforation and bilateral perforations.It was concluded that type-I tympanoplasty has a good chance of success in children regardless of age.

Tracheostomy in infants and children has been the subject of controversy in the medical literature, but decannulation in the paediatric patient is even more controversial. Various approaches and techniques have been used for decannulation, however in spite of all efforts it continues to be a problem. The objective of our study was to assess the role of polysomnography (PSG) in predicting readiness for decannulation. All subjects (n = 31) of the study were less than 12 years of age, and tracheostomized for periods of at least six months to ensure a minimum period of dependence on the tube. All had clinical, radiological and endoscopic clearance before PSG was performed. Twenty-one out of 22 patients with favourable PSG data were successfully decannulated. Attempts to decannulate all the nine patients with unfavourable PSG failed. The conclusion of the study was that PSG is a useful adjunct to the many methods of evaluating readiness for decannulation in children with long-term tracheostomy tubes.

A series of 31 cases of tuberculous laryngitis is reviewed to assess the diagnostic features of the disease.The condition generally presents in males of late middle age who have pulmonary tuberculosis. It presents in a manner similar to laryngeal carcinoma except that painful dysphagia is a prominent symptom. Histological examination of biopsy material is usually the diagnostic procedure.Stroboscopy was able to document a number of abnormalities which included abnormalities of laryngeal configuration, vibratory asymmetry, reduction of amplitude and mucosal wave. Symptoms responded well to antituberculous chemotherapy.