Bioethics committees have issued guidelines that medical interventions should be permissible only in cases of clinically verifiable disease, deformity, or injury. Furthermore, once the existence of one or more of these requirements has been proven, the proposed therapeutic procedure must reasonably be expected to result in a net benefit to the patient. As an exception to this rule, some prophyl...

Middle ear surgery involves the smallest and the most fragile bones of the human body. Since microsurgical gestures and a submillimetric precision are required in these procedures, the outcome can be potentially improved by robotic assistance. Today, there is no commercially available device in this field. Here, we describe a method to design a teleoperated assistance robotic system dedicated t...

The European Academy of Otology and Neurotology (EAONO) has previously published a consensus document on the definitions and classification of cholesteatoma. It was based on the Delphi consensus methodology involving the broad EAONO membership. At the same time, the Japanese Otological Society (JOS) had been working independently on the "Classification and Staging of Cholesteatoma." EAONO and J...

This study was undertaken to determine the minimum effective dose of granisetron, a selective 5-hydroxytryptamine type 3 receptor antagonist, for the prevention of postoperative nausea and vomiting (PONV) after middle-ear surgery. In a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial, 120 women (ASA I) received placebo (saline) or granisetron at three different doses (20 micrograms kg-1, 40 m...

INTRODUCTION Transcanal myringoplasty has the advantages of demanding lower operative time and minimal external incisions. It can be performed using the microscopic or endoscopic approach. In the last decade, the use of endoscopes in ear surgery has increased significantly. This technique may allow "around the corner" visualization of small recesses, through narrow spaces, without the aid of ca...

INTRODUCTION Deafness is a major problem in developing countries. Rural communities tend to be affected more than urban ones, and chronic otitis media is common. The World Health Organization has proposed primary ear care as a method of providing otological services in developing countries. This study aimed to assess the diagnostic otoscopy skills of community ear assistants in rural Western Ne...

Althesin (0.055 ml/kg) as an anaesthetic induction agent was compared with thiopentone (4 mg/kg) in 87 children undergoing minor ear surgery as out-patients. The children were premedicated with pethidine and atropine and anaesthesia was maintained with nitrous oxide in oxygen and halothane. Both drugs were associated with similar reductions in heart rate and similar increases in respiratory rat...