Large projecting ventral cervical osteophytes are associated with senile degenerative skeletal disease, post-traumatic osteophytogenesis, and diffuse idiopathic skeletal hyperostosis (DISH). The vast majority of patients with cervical osteophytes are asymptomatic. However, in a small subset this condition may lead to upper aerodigestive compromise manifesting as dysphagia and/or airway obstruction. Conservative medical therapy is usually sufficient, but patients with intractable disease may require surgical intervention, including tracheostomy, feeding tube placement, or osteophytectomy. A retrospective chart review was performed on all patients who presented to a tertiary referral center over a decade (1998-2008) with complaints of dysphagia and/or respiratory compromise and underwent osteophytectomy for treatment of recalcitrant symptoms. A total of nine patients met criteria. Six patients were diagnosed with DISH, two with trauma-associated osteophytogenesis, and one with senile degenerative vertebral disease. The mean age was 68 years and included seven males and two females. All patients had symptoms of dysphagia and two had simultaneous airway complaints. All patients underwent an anterolateral approach for osteophyte decompression, one of which required concurrent tracheostomy. Following surgery, 100% of patients had significant improvement in dysphagia and respiratory complaints. Eight of nine patients returned to an unrestricted diet and only one required postoperative abstinence from bulky foods; both patients with additional airway complaints were successfully decannulated after surgery. Degenerative conditions and DISH may lead to osteophyte-associated dysphagia and/or airway complaints. Surgical decompression through osteophytectomy is an effective alternative to tracheostomy and feeding tube in carefully selected patients and should be considered for surgically fit patients who fail conservative medical management.

Open and short circuits are routinely encountered. They can be managed by deactivating the affected electrode(s), and conventional wisdom states that this has little impact on performance. However, it is true that multiple failures are often associated with decreased performance and often lead to revision surgery. Certainly, every patient would prefer to have a fully functional device. Continued reporting of individual electrode circuit failures is critical to product development and improving overall device reliability.

Kikuchi-Fujimoto disease is a rare, self-limited, histiocytic, necrotizing lymphadenitis first described in Japan in 1972. Necrosis of lymph node tissue is caused by apoptosis and may be virally induced. It commonly presents with cervical lymphadenitis and fever. Despite its low incidence, Kikuchi-Fujimoto disease should be considered in patients with persistent lymphadenopathy. Originally thought to occur only in young Asian women, it is now recognized in other geographic regions. We report a 30-year-old white woman with Kikuchi-Fujimoto disease. We discuss the clinical features, differential diagnosis, radiography, pathology, and outcome.

The value of applicant screening tests in predicting surgical competency is controversial. We describe a direct assessment tool that may prove useful in identifying outliers, both high and low, to aid in final applicant ranking.