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Fifty of the 810 patients who underwent stapedotomy for otosclerosis from 1969 through 1988 were randomly chosen for follow-up of at least 5 years. Most of the patients (65%) had follow-up of 10 years after stapedotomy, but another 50 patients who underwent stapedectomy had follow-ups of longer than 10 years. In 50 patients, stapedectomy under local anesthesia was performed by removal of the footplate of the stapes, using an endaural incision, and covering the oval window with Gelfoam. In the other 50 patients, stapedotomy was performed under general anesthesia, using an endopreauricular incision, making a small hole in the footplate, and covering the hole only with blood from the surgical area. Although both groups showed improvement in hearing after the operation, the air-bone gap in the stapedotomy group was significantly better than that in the stapedectomy group. The use of the endopreauricular incision under general anesthesia was preferable to endaural incision under local anesthesia because the operative field was wider, more convenient for the surgeon, and conducive to patient safety. There were no significant complications in either group.

Varicella zoster virus (VZV)-specific IgG and IgA antibody titers were determined in serial serum samples of 23 patients with Ramsay Hunt syndrome by the immunoperoxidase assay. Varicella zoster virus-specific IgG antibodies were found in the first serum samples of all the patients. In 80% of 20 patients in whom a serum sample was available within 5 days after the onset of the disease. VZV-specific IgA antibodies were detected. The second serum sample was VZV-specific IgA-positive in all of the patients. While all the healthy age- and sex-matched control subjects had VZV-specific IgG antibodies, VZV-specific IgA antibodies were detected in a low titer (dilution = 2) in only three of the subjects. By using VZV-specific IgA antibody titers greater than or equal to 2 and greater than or equal to 4 by the immunoperoxidase assay as a "cutoff" for younger and older patients with Ramsay Hunt syndrome, respectively, an early diagnosis of the disease can be obtained in 89% of the younger and in 64% of the older patients by a single serum sample.

Herpes simplex virus (HSV)-specific IgG and IgA antibody response in patients with HSV infection and in healthy adults was studied by the immunoperoxidase antibody-membrane antigen (IPAMA) technique. In all HSV infections in which specific IgM antibodies were detected by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA), a significant rise in the titer of HSV IgG and IgA antibodies was found. In contrast, in patients with recurrent herpes labialis in which no specific HSV IgM antibodies were detected by ELISA, HSV IgG and IgA antibodies were not found to fluctuate significantly during the course of infection. A higher geometric mean titer (GMT) for HSV IgG and for IgA antibodies was found in seropositive individuals with a previous history of recurrent HSV than in seropositive individuals without a previous history of recurrent HSV infection. Nineteen of 26 HSV IgG seropositive healthy medical students without a previous history of recurrent HSV infection had HSV IgA antibodies to membrane antigen. The significance of this finding in understanding the mechanism of latency in healthy seropositive individuals without previous history of HSV recurrent infections is discussed.

Hemangioma of the zygomatic bone is an extreme rarity. Six cases have been reported in the English literature. These reports and the 2 new patients presented here constitute the basis for our data. Clinical, histopathological, therapeutic, and reconstructive considerations are discussed.

Cervical spondylosis and ankylosing hyperostosis of the cervical vertebrae are common findings. Although these hypertrophic changes can be completely asymptomatic, it is known that dysphagia may occur occasionally in the presence of massive cervical hyperostosis. Laryngotracheal symptoms due to cervical hyperostosis are less frequent and may be managed initially as tumors of the esophagus, trachea, or thyroid gland. The management of two severe cases of dyspnea due to cervical ankylosing hyperostosis are discussed.

We describe a 65-year-old woman who presented with a left tonsillar tumour. Biopsy revealed metastatic anaplastic cell carcinoma of the thyroid. Metastatic tumours are rare in the tonsils. This case, to the best of our knowledge, is the first in which the thyroid was the primary site.

Between the years 1960 and 1981, 21 patients with the diagnosis of carcinoma in situ of the vocal cords were treated in the ENT department of Beilinson Medical Center. All 21 patients received initial irradiation therapy, identical to patients with invasive squamous cell carcinoma--7200 rads Co60 tumour dose. No patient died as a result of tumour. One patient had local recurrence of invasive carcinoma after 3 years and subsequently underwent total laryngectomy. One patient died after 15 years as a result of myocardial infarction. It is important to mention that 20 patients (95.2%) were free of tumour during a follow-up of 4-25 years (mean 11 years). This study shows that radiotherapy is a highly effective method of management for carcinoma in situ of the glottic region.

The feasibility of using elevated Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) specific-IgG antiviral capsid antigen (VCA) and IgA anti-VCA antibody levels as an aid in diagnosis of nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) was analyzed by determination of serum antibody titers to EBV in 54 NPC patients, 114 healthy blood donors, and 40 family members by the immunoperoxidase assay (IPA). No significant difference was found in the prevalence rate of EBV IgG anti-VCA antibodies (titer greater than or equal to 20) between the patient group and the control and family groups (100% vs 92% and 90%, respectively). The prevalence rate of elevated EBV IgG anti-VCA titers (greater than or equal to 80, greater than or equal to 160, greater than or equal to 320, greater than or equal to 640) was significantly higher in the NPC patients than in controls. For example, at an IgG titer of greater than or equal to 320, the prevalence rate was 82% in the NPC patient group and 1.7% in the controls (P less than 0.0001). The prevalence of EBV IgA anti-VCA antibodies (greater than or equal to 10) was significantly higher in the NPC patients than in control and family groups (82% vs 6.1% and 0%, respectively). The prevalence rate for elevated EBV IgA anti-VCA (greater than or equal to 20) was found to be significantly higher (P less than 0.0001) in NPC patients than in the control group (70% vs. 1.7%). A significantly high proportion (P = 0.0004) of NPC patients who had serum EBV IgA anti-VCA titers of less than 20 had elevated IgG titers to VCA greater than or equal to 320 (21% vs 1.7% among controls). It appears that testing for IgG antibodies at a serum dilution of 1:320 and for IgA antibodies at a dilution of 1:20 by the IPA technique comprises the best combination for the differentiation between NPC patients and health controls (91% vs 3.4%), and it is suggested that these be used as screening markers for NPC patients.

The role of herpes simplex virus (HSV) and varicella zoster virus (VZV) in acute peripheral facial palsy (APFP) was evaluated in 153 patients. The sera of patients were examined for IgG and IgA antibodies to HSV and VZV by the immunoperoxidase antibody-membrane antigen (IPAMA) technique. The prevalence of IgG and IgA seropositivity to HSV was significantly higher in the APFP patients than in the matched control group. No significant difference was found in the geometric mean titer (GMT) to HSV antibodies in the APFP patients compared to the matched control groups. The prevalence of IgA antibodies to VZV was significantly higher in the APFP patients group than in the matched control group. The GMT for VZV IgG antibodies was significantly higher in the APFP patients than in the matched control group. No significant difference was found in the GMT of VZV IgA antibodies. Eleven of 83 patients for whom paired sera were available had significantly increased or decreased IgG and IgA antibody titers to VZV on subsequent examination. Four of these patients did not show any evidence of zosterian eruption. These studies support the concept that VZV and HSV might have a role in the etiopathogenesis of APFP in some of the patients.