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Objectives:To study the effect of a new technique for closed reduction of dislocated arytenoids.Methods:The study included 21 females (72.4 per cent) and eight males (27.6 per cent) with a diagnosis of arytenoid dislocation. There were 18 cases of left arytenoid dislocation and 11 of right arytenoid dislocation.Twenty-eight cases had anteromedial dislocation and one had posterolateral dislocation. All patients were treated with closed reduction using custom-made metal rods and an operating microscope, under general anaesthesia.Results:Post-operatively, 21 patients’ voices returned completely to normal (including full vocal fold mobility), five had an improved voice and three failed to show any improvement. There were no post-operative complications.Conclusion:This new closed reduction technique is a safe procedure for patients with dislocated arytenoids. It is repeatable and the outcome is reliable and effective. Closed reduction can be a useful treatment for arytenoid dislocation. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Objective: Routine screening for esophageal cancer in head and neck cancer patients in Thailand is controversial, because of concerns regarding the screening methods and cost effectiveness. Since Lugol dye chromoendoscopy is an effective technique for early detection of squamous cell carcinoma of the esophagus, the objectives of the present study are to evaluate the synchronous esophageal cancer in head and neck cancer patients and the effectiveness of Lugol dye chromoendoscopy for routine screening., Material and Method: All diagnosed patients with head and neck cancer between September 1, 2009 and June 30, 2011 were enrolled into the study. Both conventional esophagoscopy and Lugol dye chromoendoscopy were done. The incidence of esophageal cancer was calculated. A diagnostic statistical analysis was done to compare the diagnostic properties between conventional esophagoscopy and Lugol dye chromoendoscopy. Univariate and multivariate logistic regression analyses were used to find significant factors associated with esophageal cancer in this study., Results: Eighty-nine head and neck cancer patients were enrolled in this study. The incidence of esophageal cancer in head and neck cancer patients was 12.4% (11/89). Conventional esophagoscopy found a highly suspicious malignant lesion in only six patients, while the Lugol dye chromoendoscopy detected all 11 esophageal cancers. The sensitivity and specificity for conventional esophagoscopy were 54.5% and 100%, respectively, andfor Lugol dye chromoendoscopy were 100% and 70.5%, respectively. The three significant factors that increased the likelihood of synchronous esophageal cancer from univariate analysis were age less than 50 years, presence of dysphagia, and an unstained Lugol dye area ≥10 mm. Howeve, these factors were not statistically significant by multivariate analysis., Conclusion: Lugol dye chromoendoscopy is a promising tool to enhance the diagnosis of esophageal cancer among head and neck cancer patients.

Background: Head and neck cancers are prevalent in Thailand, in particular in the southern region of the country. However, survival with a large data set has not been reported. The purpose of the present study was to evaluate the survival figures and the prognostic factors in a cohort of patients treated in a university hospital located in the south of Thailand., Patients and Methods: Consecutive new cases of primary carcinoma of the oral cavity, oropharyx, hypopharynx and larynx, treated at Songklanagarind Hospital during 2002 to 2004, were analyzed. The 5-year overall survival rates were obtained by the Kaplan-Meier method. Prognostic factors were identified through multivariate Cox regression analysis., Results: A total 1,186 cases were analyzed. Two-thirds (66.6%) of the cases were at advanced stage (stage III and IV) at presentation. The five-year overall survivals for the whole cohort, oral cavity, oropharynx, hypopharynx and larynx were 24.1%, 25.91%, 19.2%, 13.4%, 38.0% respectively. Stage and treatment type were strong prognostic factors for all sites. An age ≥80 years was associated with poor survival in oral cavity and larynx cancer., Conclusions: The results revealed remarkably poor outcomes of the patients in the series, indicating a strong need to increase the proportion of early stage presentations and maximize the treatment efficacy to improving outcomes. Very old patients are of particular concern for treatment care of oral cavity and larynx cancer.

Background: Dysphagia after stroke is associated with increased mortality, higher dependence, and longer hospitalization. Different therapeutic strategies have been introduced to improve swallowing impairment. There are no current studies that compare rehabilitation swallowing therapy (RST) and neuromuscular electrical stimulation therapy (NMES)., Objective: To compare treatment outcomes between RST and NMES intervention in stroke patients with pharyngeal dysphagia., Study Design: A randomized controlled study., Material and Method: Twenty-three stroke patients with persistent pharyngeal dysphagia (RST 11, NMES 12) were enrolled in the present study. The subjects received 60 minutes of either RST or NMES treatment for five consecutive days, had two days off and then five more consecutive days of treatment for a four-week period or until they reached functional oral intake scale (FOIS) level 7. The outcome measures assessed were change in FOIS, complications related to the treatment and number of therapy sessions., Results: There were no significant differences in the stroke characteristics and the VFSS results between the two groups. At the end of treatment, the average numbers of therapy sessions per subject in the RST and NMES groups were 18.36 +/- 3.23 and 17.25 +/- 5.64, respectively, a non-significant difference. Average changes in FOIS scores were 2.46 +/- 1.04 for the RST group and 3.17 +/- 1.27 for the NMES group, statistically significant at p < 0.001. No complications were observed in either group., Conclusion: While both RST and NMES therapy showed a positive effect in the treatment of persistent dysphagia in stroke patients, NMES was significantly superior.

Objective: To study long-term clinical swallowing function and survival outcome in head and neck and cervical oesophageal cancer patients who underwent pharyngolaryngo-oesophagectomy (PLE)., Methods: The clinical data of 48 patients who were treated with PLE were analysed. All patients had advanced disease, so the construction required a transposed stomach. Body weight and clinical swallowing function were evaluated postoperatively. The swallowing function was assessed at an interview concerning food ingestion and regurgitation. The survival group was studied using a Kaplan-Meier survival curve., Results: Forty-one cases of hypopharyngeal cancer and four cases of cervical oesophageal cancer were studied. In three cases (6%), hypopharyngeal and thoracic oesophageal squamous cell carcinoma occurred together. Most cases had good-to-fair results. The average body weight gain was increased after surgery. There was one hospital death. The most common complications were pulmonary (4%). Median survival was 27 months., Conclusion: A pharyngogastric anastomosis after PLE can be performed with low morbidity and good swallowing function.

Objective/hypothesis: The objectives were to test the hypothesis that synchronous contraction of the thyrohyoid muscle by electrical stimulation during swallowing would improve dysphagia resulting from reduced laryngeal elevation and to evaluate the effectiveness of the synchronous electrical stimulator., Study Design: Prospective study., Methods: Eleven male and 12 female patients (age range, 35-87 y) with moderate to severe degree of dysphagia resulting from reduced laryngeal elevation who did not respond to medical treatment were treated by stimulating synchronous contraction of the thyrohyoid muscle during swallowing with the synchronous electrical stimulator. Treatment was given daily for 4 hours until criteria for improved swallow were fulfilled or other intervention was deemed necessary. Follow-up was performed monthly (range, 3-33 mo)., Results: Of the 23 patients, 20 showed marked improvement at the first course of treatment. The duration of stimulation varied from 2 to 4 days (median duration, 2 d) in patients with moderate dysphagia and from 3 to 30 days (median duration, 6 d) in patients with severe dysphagia. Three patients showed failed synchronous electrical stimulator treatment, one owing to device failure and two requiring gastrostomy for feeding. Six patients who achieved improved swallow criteria relapsed at 2 to 9 months after the first treatment course and were successfully treated with an additional course of synchronous electrical stimulation., Conclusions: The study supports the hypothesis that stimulating synchronous contraction of the thyrohyoid muscle by synchronous electrical stimulator during swallowing improves dysphagia resulting from reduced laryngeal elevation. Synchronized electrical stimulation has the advantages of noninvasiveness and actively assisting swallowing and can be used as an alternative treatment. The synchronized feature of the synchronous electrical stimulator helps to restore normal swallowing mechanism and decreases the incidence of nasogastric tube insertion and gastrostomy.

Videofluorography (VFG) and manometry were used to evaluate 111 patients who were diagnosed with globus hystericus. Most of the globus patients were affected by functional diseases and the underlying pathology could be revealed by VFG in 73.9 per cent of the series and by manometry in 80.2 per cent. There were 10.8 per cent of the series in which VFG and manometry yieled normal findings. The most common abnormality determined by manometry was esophageal aperistalsis. The most common abnormality revealed by VFG was cricopharyngeal bar. VFG was sensitive for morphologic detection while manometry was sensitive for motility study. Functional disorders can result in morphologic abnormality and vice versa. Therefore, VFG and manometry complement each other and are invaluable tools in the investigation of globus patients.

A young adult male with dull normal intelligence who had a fetish to female undergarments and was engaging in socially inappropriate sexual behavior was evaluated and treated in a multimodal treatment approach. Mild and diffuse encephalopathies were noted through EEG recordings. No definite epileptiform abnormalities or focal supratentorial lesions were seen and the pattern was consistent with patients with post-encephalitis. Treatment of this patient involved the use of anti-androgen and antianxiety pharmacotherapy along with counseling to provide basic sex education and specific education for socially accepted sexual behavior. Follow-up evaluation several yrs later indicated good treatment results. This case illustrates potential sources of sexually deviant behavior and treatment options. Promising new drug treatments are available which act as sexuoerotic tranquilizers as well as treatments for underlying or concomitant psychiatric disorders. In this case, however, family dynamics and poor sex education seemed to account for most of this patient's difficulties. Counseling and psychoeducation proved to be quite effective in resolving problematic behavior.

Two cases of vagal body tumours are reported for their surgical consequences of immediate post-operative airway obstruction in one case, and tachycardia hypotension and severe dysphagia requiring cricopharyngeal myotomy in another. An unusual case of carotid body tumour which had the same clinical picture was also reported for comparative surgical treatment. The surgical management of both tumours was reviewed and it was found that 28-43 per cent of carotid body tumour resection would have vascular operation while dissection of vagal body tumour usually did not. The angiographic diagnostic criteria for vagal body tumour were also reviewed and found to be inadequate. Additional angiographic criterion was proposed.

Two cases of lingual thyroid were reported. Both were treated by the transposition procedure moving the gland from the base of tongue to the sublingual space. Postoperatively, both patients remained in euthyroid state requiring no exogenous thyroid supplement.