Eustachian

OBJECTIVES: Planar cell polarity (PCP) signaling, essential for uniform alignment and directional beating of motile cilia, has been investigated in multiciliated epithelia. As a complex structure connecting the middle ear to the nasopharynx, the eustachian tube (ET) is important in the onset of ear-nose-throat diseases. However, PCP signaling, including the orientation that is important for ciliary motility and clearance function in the ET, has not been studied. We evaluated PCP in the ET epithelium...

Hairy polyps, considered a highly unusual congenital anomaly of the pharynx, are believed by many scholars to arise from the ectoderm and mesoderm during the embryonic stage. These growths often have a pear or sausage shape, are pedunculated, and their size ranges between 0.5 and 6 cm. They are typically grayish white or pink in color. This article discusses a 12-year-old female who had a growth at the Eustachian tube's entrance on the left side of the nasopharyngeal wall, as identified by a computed tomography scan of the neck soft tissue; it was suspected to be a hairy polyp originating from the left Eustachian tube...

PURPOSE: Recent studies have suggested that children with an isolated cleft lip (CL) are more likely to develop middle ear disease and eustachian tube dysfunction (ETD) compared to the general population. This may be related to abnormal palatal musculature or an undiagnosed submucosal cleft palate (SMCP). We aim to determine the prevalence of SMCP in patients with CL who exhibit ETD. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A retrospective chart review was performed for children with an isolated CL requiring tympanostomy tubes over a 20-year period at an academic tertiary care medical center...

Concomitant chemoradiotherapy (CCRT) treated patients experience various complications. We present a rare case of post-CCRT Bell's palsy and describe its various possible causes, so as to increase awareness among clinicians about Bell's palsy being a CCRT-associated adverse effect. The patient was a 48-year-old man diagnosed with squamous cell carcinoma who presented with post-CCRT Bell's palsy. After radiotherapy for 6 weeks (overall 67.5 Gy) and four rounds of cisplatin chemotherapy, he complained of paralysis of the entire left face...

OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this study was to investigate whether patient, tumour and radiation therapy factors are associated with development of middle ear effusion (MEE) in nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) patients. DEIGN, SETTINGS, AND PARTICIPANTS: A retrospective review of NPC patients treated between January 2000 and June 2018 at Rabin Medical Center. Patient factors, tumour factors, radiation doses, and radiation fields were collected and outlined if needed (middle ear, eustachian tube [ET], tensor veli palatini [TVP], and levator palatini [LVP] muscles), then analysed and compared between patients with MEE and those without and between sides in patients with unilateral MEE...

The author herein presents an unusual case of eustachian tube calcification masquerading as loose radiopacities in the temporomandibular joints on a panoramic image, creating a diagnostic challenge. The patient, a 72-year-old woman, presented to the dental service for implant treatment to improve her masticatory function. A cone-beam computed tomography scan was performed and reviewed by a board-certified oral and maxillofacial radiologist. The scan showed no evidence of calcifications in the temporomandibular joints; however, it revealed nodular calcifications within the cartilaginous portion of the eustachian tube bilaterally...

OBJECTIVE: The application of the da Vinci Surgical System in neurosurgery is limited due to technical difficulties requiring precise maneuvers and small instruments. This study details the advantages and disadvantages of robotics in neurosurgery and the reachable range of the transoral approach to lesions of the skull base and upper cervical spine. METHODS: In a cadaver study, the da Vinci Xi robot, lacking haptic feedback, was utilized for sagittal and coronal approaches on 5 heads, facilitating dura suturing in 3, with a 30°-angled drill for bone removal...

Objective Tympanometry is widely used for diagnosing Eustachian tube dysfunction (ETD). However, in clinical practice, it is not uncommon to come across patients with symptoms of ETD with a normal tympanogram. Dynamic slow motion video endoscopy (DSMVE) of Eustachian tube (ET) and Eustachian tube dysfunction questionnaire-7 (ETDQ-7) are other tools to diagnose ETD. Primary aim of the study was to compare DSMVE and tympanometry in diagnosing ETD. Secondary objective was to find an association between DSMVE and ETDQ-7...

AIMS: To identify the effect of acid reflux on the middle ear function in patients with laryngopharyngeal reflux disease (LPRD) with no pre-existing otologic complaints. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Patients presenting with complaints suggestive of LPRD were identified and Reflux Symptom Index (RSI) and Reflux Finding Score (RFS) were calculated. 73 individuals with RSI ≥ 13 and RFS ≥ 7 was diagnosed with LPRD and chosen as cases...

Objective: To investigate the clinical features of patients with congenitally enlarged bony portions of the Eustachian tube（ET）. Methods: The medical history, physical examination, hearing test, temporal bone high resolution computed tomography（HRCT） of six patients（nine ears） with congenitally enlarged bony portion of the ET were retrospectively analyzed. Results: Four patients were men and two were women. The minimum, maximum, and average ages were 5, 21, and（14...

This article presents a rare case of a large hairy polyp, a developmental malformation causing a benign tumor, within the nasopharynx. The patient, born with the polyp obstructing the airway, required immediate intubation and a combined transnasal-transoral surgical approach for excision. The case underscores the challenges in diagnosing and managing such polyps, emphasizing the importance of imaging for surgical planning, and the consideration of multiple approaches to ensure complete resection and prevent recurrence...

The objective was to determine the range of hearing improvement (in dB) post ventilation tube insertion in children with chronic otitis media with effusion (COME), and whether there was a difference in hearing improvement between age groups and genders. This study also investigated whether there was a difference in the mean hearing improvement between the left and right ear, how many months passed before recovery of eustachian tube function, and how long the aeration of the middle ear lasted. The children included in the study were between six and twelve years of age, diagnosed with COME by audiological processing (type B tympanometric recording and conductive hearing loss up to 40 dB on pure tone audiometry) and underwent surgical insertion of ventilation tubes in both ears...

PURPOSE: The endoscopic trans-eustachian approach (ETETA) is a less invasive approach to the infratemporal fossa (ITF), providing superior exposure compared to traditional transcranial approaches. The anatomy of the pharyngotympanic (eustachian) tube and adjacent neurovascular structures is complex and requires in-depth knowledge to safely perform this approach. We present a cadaveric and radiological assessment of critical anatomic considerations for ETETA. METHODS: Six adult cadaveric heads were dissected alongside examination of 50 paranasal sinus CT scans...

INTRODUCTION: For the diagnosis of Eustachian tube dysfunction (ETD), clinical procedures such as tympanometry, micro-otoscopy, and maneuvers according to Toynbee and Valsalva only allow an indirect assessment for the moment. With a prevalence of up to 5%, the selection of patients with ETD and its subtypes is clinically relevant. Dynamic methods of Eustachian tube function assessment include a hypo/hyperbaric pressure chamber and Estève's tubomanometer (TMM). One method of assessing ETD is the evaluation of Eustachian tube opening pressure (ETOP)...

An obliterated Eustachian tube (ET) is a rare occurrence that can lead to chronic otitis media (OM) and aural fullness even with treatment. Our study presents a review of the literature on methods of stenting the ET. We additionally present a case of a man with mucoepidermoid carcinoma of the ET who underwent a radical nasal pharyngectomy with reconstruction and adjuvant radiation, and who had symptoms of intolerable otorrhea after tympanostomy tube placement to treat aural fullness and mucoid OM. We used a novel method of stenting the ET using a transnasal lighted guidewire catheter and steroid eluting stents placed along the entire medial ET...

IMPORTANCE: Allergic rhinitis affects an estimated 15% of the US population (approximately 50 million individuals) and is associated with the presence of asthma, eczema, chronic or recurrent sinusitis, cough, and both tension and migraine headaches. OBSERVATIONS: Allergic rhinitis occurs when disruption of the epithelial barrier allows allergens to penetrate the mucosal epithelium of nasal passages, inducing a T-helper type 2 inflammatory response and production of allergen-specific IgE...

BACKGROUND: To elucidate the role of balloon Eustachian tuboplasty (BET) in the management of chronic rhinosinusitis with obstructive Eustachian tube dysfunction (ETD), we evaluated the results of endoscopic sinus surgery (ESS) with and without BET in patients with chronic rhinosinusitis with obstructive ETD. METHODS: This randomized controlled trial conducted in a single-institution tertiary care center setting included 50 patients diagnosed with primary chronic rhinosinusitis and obstructive ETD between July 2018 and June 2022...

Antineutrophil cytoplasmic antibody (ANCA)-associated vasculitis is a systemic necrotizing vasculitis that affects small to medium-sized vessels. We describe two cases of patulous Eustachian tube (PET) in patients with otitis media with ANCA-associated vasculitis (OMAAV). The two cases presented in this paper had previously been diagnosed with Eustachian tube (ET) stenosis, and both presented with bilateral aural fullness, with one also experiencing postnasal drip and hearing loss. Both patients experienced positive myeloperoxidase (MPO)-ANCA and negative proteinase 3 (PR3)-ANCA, and treatment for ANCA-associated vasculitis (AAV) resulted in a diagnosis of PET...

OBJECTIVE: To report a novel technique in Balloon Dilation of Eustachian Tube (BDET) using an endovascular balloon (EVB), in a prospective cohort. The results are compared with reported outcomes using standard balloons. METHODS: Demographic information and clinical parameters were collected prospectively fora series of patients with obstructive eustachian tube dysfunction (OETD). Balloon dilation Eustachian tuboplasty was performed under local anesthesia in a tertiary referral center, using the EVB...

To assess the eustachian tube function by impedance audiometry (Toynbee's test) in patients of mucosal type of chronic otitis media (inactive stage) and to assess the correlation of eustachian tube function with the results-i.e., success or failure of tympanoplasty in these patients in terms of graft uptake. This was a prospective observational study carried out over one and half years in Department of E.N.T. & Head and Neck Surgery, a tertiary care hospital. The study group comprised of eighty-seven patients who were diagnosed with chronic otitis media mucosal type- inactive stage and were planned for tympanoplasty or tympanoplasty with cortical mastoidectomy...