Otolaryngology Commons^™

Head And Neck Cancer Online Support Groups: Disparities In Participation And Impact On Patients, Benjamin Tam, Matthew Lin, Carlos Castellanos, Ruben Ulloa, Niels Kokot, Kevin Hur

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

OBJECTIVE: To characterize the users of the head and neck cancer (HNC) online support group (OSG) and describe the perceived benefits of membership.

STUDY DESIGN: Cross-sectional.

SETTING: Online.

METHODS: An administered survey with questions asking about demographics, cancer history, treatment choices, and feelings about OSGs was posted on the 5 largest HNC OSGs on Facebook.

RESULTS: A total of 97 participants completed the survey. Mean age was 57.8 years old (standard deviation = 10.7 years). Most participants were female (50.5%) and Caucasian (92.8%). This cohort was well educated with 65.5% holding at least a college degree. Annual income was high …

A Steadier Hand: The First Human Clinical Trial Of A Single-Use Robotic-Assisted Surgical Device For Cochlear Implant Electrode Array Insertion, Jay A Gantz, Bruce J Gantz, Christopher R Kaufmann, Allan M Henslee, Camille C Dunn, Xiaoyang Hua, Marlan R Hansen

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the safety and utility of an investigational robotic-assisted cochlear implant insertion system.

STUDY DESIGN: Prospective, single-arm, open-label study under abbreviated Investigational Device Exemption requirements.

SETTING: All procedures were performed, and all data were collected, at a single tertiary referral center.

PATIENTS: Twenty-one postlingually deafened adult subjects that met Food and Drug Administration indication criteria for cochlear implantation.

INTERVENTION: All patients underwent standard-of-care surgery for unilateral cochlear implantation with the addition of a single-use robotic-assisted insertion device during cochlear electrode insertion.

MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Successful insertion of cochlear implant electrode array, electrode array insertion time, postoperative implant function. …

Feasibility Of Clinical Evaluation Of Individuals With Increased Risk For Hpv-Associated Oropharynx Cancer, Nicholas Scott-Wittenborn, Gypsyamber D'Souza, Nafi Aygun, Sakshi R Tewari, Javad Azadi, Peter Vosler, Zhen Gooi, Vikas Mehta, Wojciech Mydlarz, Melonie Nance, Stefan Mlot, Mihir R Patel, Marietta Tan, Brett A Miles, Tanya Troy, Carole Fakhry

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

BACKGROUND: Human papillomavirus-associated oropharynx squamous cell carcinoma (HPV-OPSCC) has no known pre-malignant lesion. While vaccination offers future primary prevention, there is current interest in secondary prevention. The feasibility of clinical evaluation of individuals at increased risk for HPV-OPSCC is unclear.

METHODS: Individuals with risk factors for HPV-OPSCC were enrolled in a prospective study (MOUTH). Participants positive for biomarkers associated with HPV-OPSCC were eligible for a clinical evaluation which comprised a head and neck examination and imaging with ultrasound and/or magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). This study was designed to evaluate feasibility of clinical evaluation in a screening study.

RESULTS: Three hundred …

Oncologic Outcomes After Clinically Node-Negative Salvage Laryngectomy, Jennifer H Gross, Mihir R Patel, Jeffrey M Switchenko, Tyler G Chan, H M Baddour, Azeem Kaka, Brian J Boyce, Nabil F Saba, Jonathan J Beitler, Mark El-Deiry

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

IMPORTANCE: Controversy exists regarding management of the clinically node-negative neck in patients with recurrent larynx or hypopharynx cancers who received total laryngectomy after definitive radiation with or without chemotherapy.

OBJECTIVE: To explore clinical and oncologic outcomes after elective neck dissection vs observation in patients who received clinically node-negative salvage total laryngectomy.

DESIGN, SETTING, AND PARTICIPANTS: This cohort study was performed from January 2009 to June 2021 at a single, high-volume tertiary care center. Follow-up was conducted through June 2021 for all patients. Survival outcomes were based on at least 2 years of follow-up. Patients aged 18 years or older with …

The Value Of Multiple Medication Trials Prior To Balloon Sinuplasty In The Management Of Chronic Sinonasal Disease, Anand G. Shah, Macaulay Ojeaga, Josephine Novak, Vincent Honrubia

School of Medicine Publications

Introduction In patients with chronic rhinosinusitis, conservative interventions with extended medical trials are often attempted prior to procedural treatment. Balloon sinuplasty (BSP) is an established procedure for symptomatic relief from chronic rhinosinusitis. However, data suggesting the suboptimal efficacy of prolonged medication management trials, prior to BSP, is lacking.

Objectives The purpose of this study was to evaluate the efficacy of prolonged medication management trials, prior to BSP, for patients with chronic rhinosinusitis.

Methods A retrospective review was performed for all adults with chronic rhinosinusitis who received extended medical management prior to their BSP at two outpatient clinics, from November 1, …

Association Of Hearing Loss And Tinnitus Symptoms With Health-Related Quality Of Life Among Long-Term Oropharyngeal Cancer Survivors, Puja Aggarwal, Marc-Elie Nader, Paul W Gidley, Raj Pratihar, Shirin Jivani, Adam S Garden, Frank E Mott, Ryan P Goepfert, Christopher Wallace Ogboe, Camille Charles, Clifton D Fuller, Stephen Y Lai, G Brandon Gunn, Erich M Sturgis, Ehab Y Hanna, Katherine A Hutcheson, Sanjay Shete

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

BACKGROUND: This study investigated the association of hearing loss and tinnitus with overall health-related quality of life (HRQoL) among long-term oropharyngeal cancer (OPC) survivors.

METHODS: This study included OPC survivors treated between 2000 and 2013 and surveyed from September 2015 to July 2016. Hearing loss and tinnitus were measured by asking survivors to rate their "difficulty with hearing loss and/or ringing in the ears" from 0 (not present) to 10 (as bad as you can imagine). Hearing loss and tinnitus scores were categorized as follows: 0 for none, 1-4 for mild, and 5-10 for moderate to severe. The primary outcome …

Early Detection Of Mandible Osteoradionecrosis Risk In A High Comorbidity Veteran Population, David Chamberlayne Wilde, Sagar Kansara, Logan Banner, Rickey Morlen, David Hernandez, Andrew Tsao Huang, Weiyuan Mai, Clifton David Fuller, Stephen Lai, Vlad Constantin Sandulache

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

OBJECTIVE: Osteoradionecrosis (ORN) of the mandible is a devastating complication of external beam radiation therapy (EBRT) for head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC). We sought to ascertain ORN risk in a Veteran HNSCC population treatment with definitive or adjuvant EBRT and followed prospectively.

STUDY DESIGN: Retrospective analysis of prospective cohort.

SETTING: Tertiary care Veterans Health Administration (VHA) medical center.

METHODS: Patients with HNSCC who initiated treatment at the Michael E. DeBakey Veterans Affairs Medical Center (MEDVAMC) are prospectively tracked for quality of care purposes through the end of the cancer surveillance period (5 years post treatment completion). We retrospectively …

Ototoxicity Of Topical Antibiotic Ear Drops In Chronic Suppurative Otitis Media In Humans: A Review Of The Literature, Syed Zohaib Maroof Hussain, Syed S Hashmi, Asad Qayyum

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

An electronic search of the literature was performed for reported cases of ototoxicity associated with the use of topical antibiotic ear drops in humans. The dosage, duration, and type of ototoxic preparations involved were recorded. Due to the scant quantity of low-quality information that is currently available, there was uncertainty about the usefulness of topical antibiotics in enhancing the resolution of ear discharge in patients with chronic suppurative otitis media. However, despite this uncertainty, there are some data to show that using topical antibiotics in comparison to a placebo or in conjunction with a systemic antibiotic may be useful. Additionally, …

Labial Frenotomy For Symptomatic Isolated Upper Lip Tie, Cecilia G Freeman, Jason F Ohlstein, Nicholas A Rossi, John B Mcintire, Luis D Neve, Shiva Daram, Harold S Pine

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

BACKGROUND: The benefits and challenges of successful breastfeeding for both mother and child have been well-established in the literature. While ankyloglossia, or tongue tie, alone or in combination with upper lip tie has been the focus of several previous studies, very few have directly addressed isolated symptomatic upper lip tie and the role of surgical correction for breastfeeding difficulties.

MATERIALS AND METHODS: Seven infants with isolated upper lip tie and breastfeeding difficulty were taken to the operating room for labial frenotomy. These infants were assessed at their follow-up visits for their degree of weight gain since their procedure. Their mothers …

A National Multi-Institutional Analysis Of Predictors Of Surgical Site Complications And Unplanned Reoperation After Paramedian Forehead Flap Reconstruction, Garrett Ni, Rohan Brebion, Pablo A. Baltodano, Michael C. Coronado, Nicholas Elmer, Theresa K. Webster, Huaqing Zhao, Xiaoning Lu, Sthefano Araya, Sameer Patel

Student Papers, Posters & Projects

Background: Although postoperative complications of paramedian forehead flap (PMFF) are generally low, surgical site complications and unplanned reoperation can still occur. Recent literature suggests infection to be the most common complication following PMFF reconstruction. This study sought to determine the patient and preoperative factors associated with surgical site complications and unplanned reoperations at a national level.

Methods: Patients who underwent PMFF reconstruction from the ACS-NSQIP 2007 - 2019 database were analyzed to determine composite surgical site morbidity and unplanned return to the operating room. Patient and operative factors were also analyzed to assess independent risk factors for surgical site morbidity …

Altering Gene Expression Using Antisense Oligonucleotide Therapy For Hearing Loss, Katelyn N. Robillard, Erik De Vrieze, Erwin Van Wijk, Jennifer J. Lentz

School of Medicine Faculty Publications

Hearing loss affects more than 430 million people, worldwide, and is the third most common chronic physical condition in the United States and Europe (GBD Hearing Loss Collaborators, 2021; NIOSH, 2021; WHO, 2021). The loss of hearing significantly impacts motor and cognitive development, communication, education, employment, and overall quality of life. The inner ear houses the sensory organs for both hearing and balance and provides an accessible target for therapeutic delivery. Antisense oligonucleotides (ASOs) use various mechanisms to manipulate gene expression and can be tailor-made to treat disorders with defined genetic targets. In this review, we discuss the preclinical advancements …

Chemoradiation Therapy Alters The Pd-L1 Score In Locoregional Recurrent Squamous Cell Carcinomas Of The Head And Neck, Brian J Park, Austin K Mattox, Daniel Clayburgh, Mihir Patel, R Bryan Bell, Bevan Yueh, Rom Leidner, Hong Xiao, Marcus Couey, Shiting Li, Tingting Qin, Maureen A Sartor, Belinda Cairns, Tracy Macdonough, Kyle Halliwill, Daniel Deschler, Derrick T Lin, William C Faquin, Peter M Sadow, Sara I Pai

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

PD-L1 testing guides therapeutic decision-making for head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC). We sought to understand whether chemoradiation therapy (CRT) influences the PD-L1 combined positive score (CPS) and other biomarkers of response to immunotherapy. PD-L1 expression was assessed using immunohistochemistry, and bulk RNA sequencing was performed on 146 HNSCC patients (65 primary sites, 50 paired local recurrences, and 31 paired regional recurrences). PD-L1 was scored using the CPS of ≥1, ≥20, and ≥50. Overall, 98 %, 54 %, and 17 % of HNSCCs had a CPS ≥1, ≥20, and ≥50, respectively. When using a cut-off of ≥1, CRT did …

Tonsillectomy In Children With 22q11.2 Deletion Syndrome., Jill M. Arganbright, Paul Bryan Hankey, Meghan Tracy, Srivats Narayanan, Janelle R. Noel-Macdonnell Phd, David G. Ingram Md

Manuscripts, Articles, Book Chapters and Other Papers

Tonsillectomy is one of the most common procedures performed in children, however there are currently no published studies evaluating tonsillectomy in children with 22q11.2 deletion syndrome (22q11DS). With this study, our goal was to investigate the indications, efficacy, and complications of tonsillectomy in a pediatric cohort of patients with 22q11DS. This is a retrospective chart review of patients in our 22q Center's repository. Inclusion criteria were a diagnosis of 22q11DS and a history of tonsillectomy or adenotonsillectomy. Data collected included: indications for tonsillectomy, preoperative and postoperative polysomnography (PSG) results, and surgical complications. In total, 33 patients were included. Most common …

Endolymphatic Sac Tumor, Tanner P. Lyons, Laura Barry, Robert T Sataloff

Otolaryngology (ENT) Resident Research

Masses occupying the retrolabyrinthine space are uncommon and most often represent paragangliomas, choroid plexus papilloma, endolymphatic sac tumors (ELSTs) or distant metastasis. ELSTs are rare, locally invasive tumors of the inner ear, with less than 300 cases reported in the literature. ELSTs are associated with von-Hippel Lindau (VHL) disease. Patients diagnosed with an ELST should undergo genetic testing for VHL disease, and individuals with confirmed VHL disease should be screened for ELST(s).

Metformin Increases Natural Killer Cell Functions In Head And Neck Squamous Cell Carcinoma Through Cxcl1 Inhibition, Mckenzie Crist, Benyamin Yaniv, Sarah Palackdharry, Maria A. Lehn, Mario Medvedovic, Timothy Stone, Shuchi Gulati, Vidhya Karivedu, Michael Borchers, Bethany Fuhrman, Audrey Crago, Joseph Curry, Ubaldo Martinez-Outschoorn, Vinita Takiar, Trisha M. Wise-Draper

Department of Otolaryngology - Head and Neck Surgery Faculty Papers

BACKGROUND: Metformin slows tumor growth and progression in vitro, and in combination with chemoradiotherapy, resulted in high overall survival in patients with head and neck cancer squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC) in our phase 1 clinical trial (NCT02325401). Metformin is also postulated to activate an antitumor immune response. Here, we investigate immunologic effects of metformin on natural killer (NK) and natural killer T cells, including results from two phase I open-label studies in patients with HNSCC treated with metformin (NCT02325401, NCT02083692).

METHODS: Peripheral blood was collected before and after metformin treatment or from newly diagnosed patients with HNSCC. Peripheral immune cell …

Ambulatory Monitoring Of Subglottal Pressure Estimated From Neck-Surface Vibration In Individuals With And Without Voice Disorders, Juan P Cortés, Jon Z Lin, Katherine L Marks, Víctor M Espinoza, Emiro J Ibarra, Matías Zañartu, Robert E Hillman, Daryush D Mehta

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

The aerodynamic voice assessment of subglottal air pressure can discriminate between speakers with typical voices from patients with voice disorders, with further evidence validating subglottal pressure as a clinical outcome measure. Although estimating subglottal pressure during phonation is an important component of a standard voice assessment, current methods for estimating subglottal pressure rely on non-natural speech tasks in a clinical or laboratory setting. This study reports on the validation of a method for subglottal pressure estimation in individuals with and without voice disorders that can be translated to connected speech to enable the monitoring of vocal function and behavior in …

Magnetic Resonance-Guided Radiation Therapy For Head And Neck Cancers, Danny Lavigne, Sweet Ping Ng, Brian O'Sullivan, Phuc Felix Nguyen-Tan, Edith Filion, Laurent Létourneau-Guillon, Clifton D Fuller, Houda Bahig

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Despite the significant evolution of radiation therapy (RT) techniques in recent years, many patients with head and neck cancer still experience significant toxicities during and after treatments. The increased soft tissue contrast and functional sequences of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) are particularly attractive in head and neck cancer and have led to the increasing development of magnetic resonance-guided RT (MRgRT). This approach refers to the inclusion of the additional information acquired from a diagnostic or planning MRI in radiation treatment planning, and now extends to online high-quality daily imaging generated by the recently developed MR-Linac. MRgRT holds numerous potentials, including …

Nasal Surgery Versus Pharyngeal Surgery In The Treatment Of Obstructive Sleep Apnea, Ruxandra Oana Alius, Viorel Zainea, Catalina Voiosu, Irina Gabriela Ionita, Andreea Rusescu, Oana Denisa Balalau, Catalin Alius, Raluca Oana Pulpa, Razvan Hainarosie

Journal of Mind and Medical Sciences

The endemic spread of obesity and unhealthy behaviors of modern society led to revisiting the real prevalence related to obstructive sleep apnea. Recent data support a paradigm shift towards individually tailored treatments which include functional surgery of the upper airways. This paper presents the results of a randomized interventional, prospective study on 68 patients referred by the general practitioner for obstructive sleep apnea. The eligible cohort consisted of 28 patients who were offered functional surgery for definitive relief of obstructive symptoms. After topographic diagnosis of the obstruction site and grading of the severity of the obstructive sleep apnea, the eligible …

Indications For Absorbable Steroid-Eluting Sinus Implants: Viewpoint Via The Delphi Method, Victoria S Lee, Prayag Patel, Daniel O'Brien, George A Scangas, Raewyn G Campbell, Rakesh Chandra, Greg E Davis, Joseph K Han, Christopher H Le, Jivianne Lee, Amber U Luong, David M Poetker, Hassan Ramadan, Michael Setzen, Kristine Smith, Sarah Wise, Jennifer Villwock, Elisabeth Ference

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Absorbable steroid-eluting sinus implants provide targeted corticosteroid release over a sustained period and are designed to prevent both undesirable adhesion formation and sinus ostia restenosis. Here, we highlight the key evidence of these implants to date and query a group of experts via a Delphi process on the indications and optimal timing for intraoperative or in-office placement of these implants. Six of a total of 12 statements reached consensus and were accepted. Overall, experts largely agree that intraoperative or in-office use of steroid-eluting stents could be considered for patients: (1) who are diabetic or intolerant of oral steroids, (2) undergoing …

Automated Extraction Of Anatomical Measurements From Temporal Bone Ct Imaging, Andy S Ding, Alexander Lu, Zhaoshuo Li, Deepa Galaiya, Masaru Ishii, Jeffrey H Siewerdsen, Russell H Taylor, Francis X Creighton

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

OBJECTIVE: Proposed methods of minimally invasive and robot-assisted procedures within the temporal bone require measurements of surgically relevant distances and angles, which often require time-consuming manual segmentation of preoperative imaging. This study aims to describe an automatic segmentation and measurement extraction pipeline of temporal bone cone-beam computed tomography (CT) scans.

STUDY DESIGN: Descriptive study of temporal bone measurements.

SETTING: Academic institution.

METHODS: A propagation template composed of 16 temporal bone CT scans was formed with relevant anatomical structures and landmarks manually segmented. Next, 52 temporal bone CT scans were autonomously segmented using deformable registration techniques from the Advanced Normalization Tools …