Studies on endonasal dilatation of the Eustachian tube (EET) utilizing a balloon catheter have shown encouraging results over the last years. This retrospective analysis presents our outcomes with EET in children with chronic obstructive dysfunction of the Eustachian tube, as well as the role of tubomanometry (TMM, Estève) as a diagnostic tool in the pre- and postoperative assessment of the Eustachian tube (ET) dysfunction. The data of 33 children, having undergone EET between September 2010 and March 2014, were retrospectively evaluated. They were assessed using tubomanometry before and after the EET. The R-data as the rate of Eustachian tube function in tubomanometry (TMM) were pre- and postoperatively matched with the clinical outcomes. Moreover, the patients' complaints before and after the procedure were analyzed. We did not see any EET-related complications in children. Most patients noticed a relief of their complaints. In the same time, tubomanometry was not able to show improved tube function or favorable postoperative changes in the R-data. Ear-related symptoms (e.g. otorrhea, otalgia, hearing loss) have been improved. EET is a feasible method in adults as well as in children to treat chronic tube dysfunction. However, tubomanometry does not seem to be the adequate tool to evaluate the tube function and thus the success rate of EET in children with chronic dysfunction of the Eustachian tube.

Background and ObjectiveAs a result of wound healing the original tissue is replaced by dysfunctional scar tissue. Reduced tissue damage during surgical procedures beneficially affects the size of the resulting scar and overall healing time. Thus the choice of a particular surgical instrument can have a significant influence on the postoperative wound healing. To overcome these problems of wound healing we applied a novel picosecond infrared laser (PIRL) system to surgical incisions. Previous studies indicated that negligible thermal, acoustic, or ionization stress effects to the surrounding tissue results in a superior wound healing.Study Design/Materials and MethodsUsing the PIRL system as a surgical scalpel, we performed a prospective wound healing study on rat skin and assessed its final impact on scar formation compared to the electrosurgical device and cold steel. As for the incisions, 6 full‐thickness, 1‐cm long‐linear skin wounds were created on the dorsum of four rats using the PIRL, an electrosurgical device, and a conventional surgical scalpel, respectively. Rats were euthanized after 21 days of wound healing. The thickness of the subepithelial fibrosis, the depth and the transverse section of the total scar area of each wound were analyzed histologically.ResultsAfter 21 days of wound healing the incisions made by PIRL showed minor scar tissue formation as compared to the electrosurgical device and the scalpel. Highly significant differences (P < 0.001) were noted by comparing the electrosurgical device with PIRL and scalpel. The transverse section of the scar area also showed significant differences (P = 0.043) when comparing PIRL (mean: 141.46 mm2; 95%CI: 105.8–189.0 mm2) with scalpel incisions (mean: 206.82 mm2; 95%CI: 154.8–276.32 mm2). The subepithelial width of the scars that resulted from using the scalpel were 1.3 times larger than those obtained by using the PIRL (95%CI: 1.0–1.6) though the difference was not significant (P < 0.083).ConclusionsThe hypothesis that PIRL results in minimal scar formation with improved cosmetic outcomes was positively verified. In particular the resection of skin tumors or pathological scars, such as hypertrophic scars or keloids, are promising future fields of PIRL application. Lasers Surg. Med. 48:385–391, 2016. © 2016 The Authors. Lasers in Surgery and Medicine Published by Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

This study is a retrospective analysis of clinico-pathological data to investigate survival rates of patients with oropharyngeal squamous cell carcinoma (OPSCC) treated with different modalities in a single academic head and neck cancer center in different time intervals. Altogether, 287 patients with OPSCC were included in this comparison. Patients were analysed during two different treatment periods: Group 1 included patients treated mainly with primary surgery ± adjuvant radio(chemo)therapy between 2002 and 2007, while Group 2 included patients treated with organ/function-preservation protocols if indicated. Main outcome measures were overall survival (OS) and recurrence-free survival (RFS). Between 2002 and 2007, early-stage OPSCC showed a 5-year OS of 75% compared to that of 86% between 2008 and 2013. Locally advanced OPSCC showed a 5-year OS of 66% between 2002 and 2007 compared to that of 74% between 2008 and 2013. RFS in early-stage OPSCC was 48% between 2002 and 2007 in contrast to that of 77% between 2008 and 2013. With locally advanced OPSCC, RFS was 55% between 2002 and 2007 compared to that of 56% between 2008 and 2013. These differences were statistically not significant. The OS and RFS remained generally unchanged over the analysed time period. There was no significant difference in the outcomes with regards to HPV status and to their treatment modality.