The medical world is always looking for better ways to fight cancer. Recently, there's been a lot of talk about using robots to help with throat cancer. This isn't about robots taking over, but about using special tools to make surgery safer and more effective. First, let's talk about the type of cancer we're dealing with. There are small glands in the throat that c...
HPV testing is vital for managing oropharyngeal cancer. It helps doctors understand the severity of the cancer and plan treatment. However, the frequency of this testing across the US is unclear. A recent study aimed to clarify this by examining how often HPV DNA-RNA and p16 tests are conducted for oropharyngeal squamous cell carcinoma. The study uncovered some fasc...
Robotic surgery is a big deal in the medical world. It's precise and less invasive than traditional methods. But even with all its advantages, there are still some issues that need to be addressed. One of these is the variability in how well the oropharynx is exposed during Transoral Robotic Surgery (TORS). This can be a big problem. The oropharynx is the area at the...
Ever wondered if the future doctors who are learning to fix your ears, nose, and throat are voting in elections? Well, it turns out that not many of them are. This is a big deal because what happens in politics can really change how doctors do their jobs and how patients get treated. Let's talk about the Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery (OHNS) trainees...
In Japan, throat and voice box cancer patients often go through a surgery called non-robotic transoral surgery (NRTOS). This method is way more common than using the fancy da Vinci robot. The reason? NRTOS uses tools that can be used again and again, making it way cheaper than the robotic option. The big question is, how safe is this cheaper surgery? Well, a...
Airway management in babies is a tough job. Doctors often need to perform intubation, which is a procedure to open the airway. This is especially tricky in newborns and infants up to 6 months old. The Besdata video laryngoscope is a new tool that might make this process easier. It's designed to help doctors see the airway better and reduce the number of attempts need...
The Otorhinolaryngology Foundation was created in 1995 and has since been a major player in advancing ear, nose, and throat care in Brazil. This foundation, born out of the Center for Studies and Advanced Development in Otorhinolaryngology, has grown its influence far beyond academic support to become a national go-to source. The foundation has made a positive impac...
Sarcopenia, muscle loss, can change the outcome of patients with late-stage nasopharyngeal cancer. Using MRI scans before therapy to check the muscle index at the third neck vertebrae, it turns out to be useful. How cool is that! These medical findings help us comprehend why muscle loss matters. Why would bad therapy have an effect on the patient? ? Let's d...
Human papillomavirus (HPV) is now known as a big player in causing head and neck cancers, especially in the oropharynx. The good news is that HPV-positive oropharyngeal cancers tend to have better outcomes compared to HPV-negative ones. This is due to their unique progression and characteristics. It is important for doctors to find out if a tumor is HPV-positive or n...
Recent times have seen artificial intelligence (AI) making waves in medicine. One area where AI is being explored is in surgical contexts, particularly in interpreting medical images. This study dives into how six different AI tools, called multimodal large language models (MLLMs), handle images related to laryngeal cancer surgery. These tools are designed to underst...