Objectives/Hypothesis The free flap reconstructive protocols of the jaws have been refined over the years and presently are based on bone‐driven approaches that generally use the lower border of the mandible or the anterior surface of the maxilla as the templates for reconstruction because these contours are deemed important to the eventual cosmetic outcomes of patients. The ultimate goal of functional jaw reconstruction, however, is the reconstruction of the dental occlusion and oral rehabilitation. The purpose of the present study was to evaluate the Alberta reconstructive technique (ART), which is a new approach of occlusion‐driven jaw reconstruction with digitally planned immediate osseointegrated implant installation. Study Design Prospective cohort study. Methods This research study considers the ART's safety, effectiveness, accuracy, timeliness of reconstruction, aesthetic appeal, and cost‐effectiveness in comparison with the standard bone‐driven and delayed osseointegrated implant installation (BDD) protocol. Results The ART procedures were as safe and more effective at achieving full occlusal reconstruction and oral rehabilitation. The ART cohort of patients achieved oral rehabilitation in 21.4 month as compared to 73.1 months for the BDD cohort. There were no differences in the aesthetic appeal the two groups. The ART cost an average of $22,004 less than BDD and we calculated the quality adjusted life years gain to be between 2.14 and 4.04 in favour of ART. Conclusions The ART is a good option for patients with jaw defects. It provides a safe, effective, accurate, aesthetic, and cost‐effective reconstruction that restores form and function in a timely manner. Level of Evidence 2b Laryngoscope, 129:S1–S14, 2019

Background: While aggressive treatment for oral cancer may optimize survival, decrements in speech and swallowing function and quality of life often result. This exploratory study investigated how patients recover their communicative function, swallowing ability, and quality of life after primary surgery [with or without adjuvant (chemo)radiation therapy] for tongue cancer over the course of the first year post-operation. . Outcome measures were completed pre-operatively and at 1-, 6-, and 12-months post-operatively. Results: One hundred and seventeen patients undergoing partial glossectomy with reconstruction participated in this study. Results indicated no significant differences in swallowing function (MDADI and EORTC-H&N35 subscales) between baseline and 6 months post-surgery and no significant differences in speech function (SHI subscales) between baseline and 1 year post-surgery. Most quality of life domains (EORTC-H&N35 subscales) returned to baseline levels by 1 year post-operation, while difficulties with dry mouth and sticky saliva persisted. A clear time trend of adjuvant (chemo)radiation therapy negatively affecting dry mouth scores over time was identified in this study, while negative independent effects of chemoradiation on MDADI swallowing, and EORTC-H&N35 swallowing, eating, and opening mouth subscales were found.

Background Prescription opioid abuse has become a major issue across the world and especially in North America. Canada has the second highest number of opioid prescriptions per capita in the world, second only to the United States, with numbers continuing to rise in recent years. Surgeons play a critical role in this discussion as they are responsible for the management of post-operative pain in their patients . The objective of this study is to evaluate the opioid prescribing practices of Otolaryngologists-Head and Neck Surgeons in Canada and determine factors that may influence these practices. Methods The online survey was distributed to members of the Canadian Society of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery. Questions surveyed the respondents’ demographics and opioid prescribing practices for common pediatric and adult elective surgeries. Results The survey was sent to 670 surgeons and trainees and 121 responses were received (18%). There was representation across all subspecialties with a mix of community and academic surgeons. The most commonly prescribed opioid was Codeine/Acetaminophen, 48.2% ( n = 53), in the adult population, and Morphine, 47.1% ( n = 41), in the pediatric population. The median total oral morphine equivalents prescribed across all adult surgeries was 123.75 mg (24.75 doses). The surgery with the highest oral morphine equivalents prescribed was tonsillectomy/adenoidectomy for both adult and pediatric patients, with a median of 150 mg (30 doses) for adults and 4.5 mg/kg (23 doses) for pediatrics. Gender, training years, year in residency, or reported level of conservatism did not predict the dose prescribed to either adult or pediatric patients. Due to the relatively low response rate, the generalizability of these results is unclear. Conclusions Our study demonstrates a wide variability in opioid prescriptions across procedures and within each individual procedure. This variability reflects the lack of guidelines available for post-operative opioid prescribing and suggests that some Otolaryngologists may be prescribing higher doses of opioids than required. Opportunities for improving patient safety and resource stewardship regarding optimal prescribing practices should be explored. Electronic supplementary material The online version of this article (10.1186/s40463-019-0352-9) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

Background Head-and-neck cancers (hncs) often present at an advanced stage, leading to poor outcomes. Late presentation might be attributable to patient delays (reluctance to seek treatment, for instance) or provider delays (misdiagnosis, prolonged wait time for consultation, for example). The objective of the present study was to examine the length and cause of such delays in a Canadian universal health care setting. Methods Patients presenting for the first time to the hnc multidisciplinary team (mdt) with a biopsy-proven hnc were recruited to this study. Patients completed a survey querying initial symptom presentation, their previous medical appointments, and length of time between appointments. Clinical and demographic data were collected for all patients. Results The average time for patients to have their first appointment at the mdt clinic was 15.1 months, consisting of 3.9 months for patients to see a health care provider (hcp) for the first time since symptom onset and 10.7 months from first hcp appointment to the mdt clinic. Patients saw an average of 3 hcps before the mdt clinic visit (range: 1–7). No significant differences in time to presentation were found based on stage at presentation or anatomic site. Conclusions At our tertiary care cancer centre, a patient’s clinical pathway to being seen at the mdt clinic shows significant delays, particularly in the time from the first hcp visit to mdt referral. Possible methods to mitigate delay include education about hnc for patients and providers alike, and a more streamlined referral system.

ImportanceThe association of primary tumor volume with outcomes in T3 glottic cancers treated with radiotherapy with concurrent chemotherapy remains unclear, with some evidence suggesting worse locoregional control in larger tumors.ObjectiveTo evaluate the association of primary tumor volume with oncologic outcomes in patients with T3 N0-N3 M0 glottic cancer treated with primary (chemo)radiotherapy in a large multi-institutional study.Design, Setting, and ParticipantsThis multi-institutional retrospective cohort study involved 7 Canadian cancer centers from 2002 to 2018. Tumor volume was measured by expert neuroradiologists on diagnostic imaging. Clinical and outcome data were extracted from electronic medical records. Overall survival (OS) and disease-free survival (DFS) outcomes were assessed with marginal Cox regression. Laryngectomy-free survival (LFS) was modeled as a secondary analysis. Patients diagnosed with cT3 N0-N3 M0 glottic cancers from 2002 to 2018 and treated with curative intent intensity-modulated radiotherapy (IMRT) with or without chemotherapy. Overall, 319 patients met study inclusion criteria.ExposuresTumor volume as measured on diagnostic imaging by expert neuroradiologists.Main Outcomes and MeasuresPrimary outcomes were OS and DFS; LFS was assessed as a secondary analysis, and late toxic effects as an exploratory analysis determined before start of the study.ResultsThe mean (SD) age of participants was 66 (12) years and 279 (88%) were men. Overall, 268 patients (84%) had N0 disease, and 150 (47%) received concurrent systemic therapy. The mean (SD) tumor volume was 4.04 (3.92) cm3. With a mean (SD) follow-up of 3.85 (3.04) years, there were 91 (29%) local, 35 (11%) regional, and 38 (12%) distant failures. Increasing tumor volume (per 1-cm3 increase) was associated with significantly worse adjusted OS (hazard ratio [HR], 1.07; 95% CI, 1.03-1.11) and DFS (HR, 1.04; 95% CI, 1.01-1.07). A total of 62 patients (19%) underwent laryngectomies with 54 (87%) of these within 800 days after treatment. Concurrent systemic therapy was associated with improved LFS (subdistribution HR, 0.63; 95% CI, 0.53-0.76).Conclusions and RelevanceIncreasing tumor volumes in cT3 glottic cancers was associated with worse OS and DFS, and systemic therapy was associated with improved LFS. In absence of randomized clinical trial evidence, patients with poor pretreatment laryngeal function or those ineligible for systemic therapy may be considered for primary surgical resection with postoperative radiotherapy.

Patients undergoing nasal surgery did not exhibit subjective changes in resonance postoperatively. Aside from a difference in HNR for the nasal sentence, objective microacoustics remained unchanged. These results demonstrate the stability of oranasal resonance despite nasal surgery and provide valuable data for patient informed decision-making.

Background To evaluate the clinical presentation of choanal atresia (CA) in tertiary centers across Canada. Methods Multi-centre case series involving six tertiary care pediatric hospitals across Canada. Retrospective chart review of patients born between 1980 and 2010 diagnosed with CA at a participating center. Results The health charts of 215 patients (59.6% female) with CA were reviewed and included in this study. The mean age of patients at time of CA presentation was 0.4 months (range 0.1 to 7.2 months) for bilateral CA and 37.8 months (range 0.1 to 164.1 months) for unilateral cases. The most common presenting symptoms for bilateral CA in decreasing order were respiratory distress (96.4%), feeding difficulties (68.2%), and rhinorrhea (65.5%), and for unilateral cases in decreasing order were rhinorrhea (92.0%), feeding difficulties (24.7%), and respiratory distress (18.0%). For the majority of patients (73.2%), the obstruction comprised mixed bony and membranous tissue, with only 10.5% presenting with a purely membranous obstruction. Familial history of CA was confirmed in only 3.3% of cases. One half of patients with CA presented with one or more associated anomalies and 30.6% had a syndrome. Conclusions The present investigation is the first national multi-institutional study evaluating the clinical presentation of CA over three decades. The present cohort of CA patients presented with a breadth of co-morbidities with highly variable presentations, with bilateral cases being more severely affected than unilateral cases. Further investigation into hereditary linkages to CA development is warranted. Graphical abstract

Background: This study explored whether medical students at a Canadian university conceptualize health and disability from a biomedical or biopsychosocial perspective. The World Health Organization's (WHO) International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health (ICF) served as the theoretical basis for this exploration.Methods: A written survey was administered to capture medical students' conceptualizations of health and disability. The survey included questions explicitly related to the constructs of universalism, nonlinearity, social and environmental factors, personal factors, participation, aspects of language and biopsychosocial health perspectives. The survey was also designed to include both theoretical and scenario-based questions related to biopsychosocial concepts of disability. The survey was distributed to and completed by a senior medical school class at a Canadian university.Results: In total, 82 out of 131 medical students completed the survey. Observed trends suggested that for theory-based questions, respondents exhibited close agreement with biopsychosocial perspectives of health and disability. Scenariobased questions resulted in more variability among respondents compared to theory-based questions. When students who previously had been introduced to the ICF were compared with students who had not, those familiar with the ICF more consistently exhibited a biopsychosocial perspective of health and disability; however these differences were not statistically significant.Conclusion: Overall, senior medical students in this study were generally found to conceptualize disability using a biopsychosocial orientation. This result was more pronounced among students who were previously familiar with the ICF. Interestingly, a biopsychosocial orientation was not consistently maintained for scenario-based questions for all respondents. Our current healthcare climate requires that the concept of health move beyond a biomedical perspective to a more holistic biopsychosocial perspective. This change in perspective is of particular importance as movement towards team-based models of care continues to gain momentum. Closing conceptual and language-based gaps related to concepts of health and disability among all healthcare professionals is pertinent to improvinginterprofessional collaboration and service provision. The ICF presents a framework and language that is relevant across all health professions. Increased use of the ICF in health professional education and training could significantly contribute to increased interdisciplinary success.