161 patients treated with septoplastic operations for nasal stenosis were examined 25–64 months postoperatively. Surgery was inadequate in 32 cases (20%); in 23 this was due to the septum operation itself, in 9 to unsatisfactory or no correction of the alar insufficiency. Preoperative anterior dislocations were corrected in 64 of 76 cases, deflection of the nose in 43 of 75 cases. Late complications were few: anterior dislocations in 3 cases; small columellar retractions in 7 cases; small septal perforations in 4 cases, and saddle nose deformity in 3 cases. 35% of the patients were not satisfied with the result, but in 14 patients (9%) this was not justified according to our examination. In a further 11 % the reasons for dissatisfaction were not related to the result of the operation.

Compared with tamponade treatment, HWI is as effective, requires a significantly shorter hospital stay, is less traumatic to the nose, and is significantly less painful.

The efficacy of diclofenac suppositories was estimated in a two-centre, double-blind, placebo-controlled study comprising 97 patients (47 in the diclofenac group and 50 in the placebo group). The series from the two centres and patients in the two treatment groups were comparable. Immediately postoperatively, the patients received 100 mg diclofenac, followed by 50 mg in the evening and 50 mg in the morning after the operation, or placebo suppositories. The efficacy was assessed both by the patients and by the staff by marking on a visual analogue scale. Statistical analyses showed that diclofenac has a significant (p less than 0.001) effect on the pain associated with swallowing and on the general condition of the patients. The therapeutic gain was calculated to 50%. As a consequence of this study, treatment with diclofenac has been introduced in both ENT departments.

Fifty-two patients with a haematoma or abscess of the nasal septum underwent surgical treatment during a period of 10 years in the ENT Department at Aalborg Hospital. Of these, 27 patients with a haematoma and 12 patients with an abscess were re-examined. In all the patients except 1, trauma was the cause of the lesion. The average delay of treatment was 48 hours for patients with a haematoma and 11 days for patients with abscesses. All these lesions were incised under general anaesthesia and treated with drainage and nasal packing. Eight patients showed cartilage resorption; none had initial cartilage implantation. Follow-up showed that 7 patients had received further surgical treatment during the observation period (mean 44 months). The frequency of nasal deformities is comparable with that of previous reports. The patients with abscesses in particular showed severe external nasal deformities; this is mainly attributable to the delay in treatment.

\s=b\The incidence and degree of sensorineural hearing loss were analyzed in 67 patients operated on for adhesive otitis.Median observation time was 11 years. The difference in bone conduction between the treated ear and the untreated ear was assessed for each frequency, before operation and late after operation. A sensorineural hearing impairment of 5 dB was found in the frequency region of 500 to 2,000 Hz and of 10 dB at 4,000 Hz. The hearing did not deteriorate during the postoperative period. In 76% of the patients, the bone conduction in the treated ear compared with the healthy ear was at least 10 dB poorer at one or more frequencies. There are great problems in analyzing sensorineural hearing loss in chronic otitis, which often is or has been bilateral.It is well known that sensorineural hearing loss (SNHL) occurs in chronic otitis media following acute and recognized complications such as serous or purulent tympanogenous labyrinthitis13 and fistulas communi¬ cating with the labyrinth or cochlea.Our knowledge about the apparent¬ ly chronic and insidious SNHL in chronic otitis media, where no specific complication or event in the course of the chronic disease can be singled out,is as yet scanty. With the present Accepted for publication Sept 6, 1985. From the Ear, Nose, and Throat Clinic, Gentofte Hospital, University of Copenhagen.Reprints not available.analysis we wish to initiate a clinical "mapping" of the occurrence of SNHL in the various forms of chronic otitis, with the main objective of determin¬ ing whether the incidence and degree of SNHL vary among adhesive otitis, middle-ear tympanosclerosis, choles¬ teatoma, and simple chronic otitis media without cholesteatoma. Few studies are available on SNHL in chronic otitis. Gardenghi" found some degree of SNHL in 42% of patients with chronic otitis, and Bluvshtein5 reported SNHL in 38%. Frickinger,6 examining 100 ears with cholesteatoma, found a minor SNHL (up to 20 dB) in 34%, moderate SNHL (up to 50 dB) in 51%, and severe SNHL (>50 dB) in 7%. In 100 ears with chronic mucosal otitis, the corre¬ sponding percentages were 55%, 23%, and 5%. In 100 ears with secretory otitis, these percentages were 31%, 15%, and 0%. These reports made no mention of the frequencies involved or the mean hearing losses found. Paparella et al,7 in 279 ears with chronic otitis, found SNHL at all fre¬ quencies, most pronounced in the highest frequency region. Further¬ more, they found SNHL to be more pronounced in discharging ears than in dry ears and more pronounced in ears with granulating mucosa than in those with slight mucosal changes. There appeared to be some correlation between the duration of disease and the degree of SNHL. English et al,8 examining 100 dry ears with perfora¬ tion of the tympanic membrane and intact ossicular chain, found a mean reduction of the bone conduction of about 10 dB for most frequencies and about 15 dB for the frequency of 4,000Hz. The SNHL was greater among 100 dry ears with a defective long process of the incus and still greater among 100 dis...