We conclude that ELSPA and ELSPEA are effective, well-tolerated, reliable procedures if performed by an experienced surgeon. Their failure can be explained by anatomic lateral nasal wall variations and perioperative technical difficulties. They can be appropriate methods to treat severe recurrent epistaxis refractory to repeated nasal packing.

The sphenopalatine artery is the end artery of the maxillary artery located within the pterygopalatine fossa and passes through the sphenopalatine foramen (SPF) on lateral nasal wall. Nasal bleeding from this artery is potentially life threatening and may urgently require endonasal endoscopic occlusion. The aims of the present study have been first to investigate the location of the SPF, secondly the pattern of the main branches of the sphenopalatine artery at the foramen. 12 adult dry skulls and 6 adult cadaver heads injected within Indian Ink have been analyzed under an operating microscope Leica. All measurements were assessed using a digital calliper. The inferior border of the SPF has been situated 18.27 mm (15.09-20.87 mm) above the horizontal plate of the palatine bone and 13.04 mm (9.01-14.85 mm) above the horizontal lamina of the nasal inferior turbinate. Endoscopically, the posterior wall of the maxillary sinus is located at the level or anteriorly within 10 mm to the anterior border of the SPF. In all cases, the anterior border of the SPF is characterized by an easy recognizable sharp bony crest at the narrow middle part of the hourglass shape foramen. The SPF is 6.13 mm high (5.24-6.84 mm), with deep grooves extended superiorly and inferiorly from the foramen in eight skulls (8/12). The posterior lateral nasal artery which courses inferiorly and vertically (diameter 1.80+/-0.20 mm) and the nasal septal artery which courses superiorly and vertically (diameter 1.30+/-0.30 mm) have been the two major branches just leaving the SPF. One or two smaller collateral branches (diameter less than 1 mm) to the superior and/or the middle turbinate can get out coming from the stem of the main branches or directly from the SPF. So, the success rate of sphenopalatine artery ligation during endoscopic surgical procedure needs selective dissection of the two main branches of the sphenopalatine artery close to the SPF.

We report 3 patients who complained of positional vertigo shortly after head trauma. Positional maneuvers performed in the plane of the posterior canal (PC; Dix-Hallpike maneuver) and the horizontal canal (HC; patients were rolled to either side in a supine position with the head raised 30 degrees) revealed a complex positional nystagmus that could only be interpreted as the result of combined PC and HC benign paroxysmal positional vertigo (BPPV). Two patients had a right PC BPPV and an ageotropic HC BPPV, and 1 patient had a bilateral PC BPPV and a left geotropic HC BPPV. All 3 patients were rapidly free of vertigo after the PC BPPV was cured by the Epley maneuver and the geotropic HC BPPV was cured by the Vannucchi method. The ageotropic HC BPPV resolved spontaneously. Neuroimaging (brain computed tomography and/or magnetic resonance imaging scans) findings were normal in all 3 patients. From a physiopathological viewpoint, it is easy to conceive that head trauma could throw otoconial debris into different canals of each labyrinth and be responsible for these combined forms of BPPV. Consequently, in trauma patients with vertigo, it is mandatory to perform the Dix-Hallpike maneuver, as well as supine lateral head turns, in order to diagnose PC BPPV, HC BPPV, or the association of both. Early diagnosis and treatment of BPPV may help to reduce the postconcussion syndrome.

These results help describe the distribution of collagen fibers within the lamina propria of the human vocal fold and have implications to understand the cover-body theory of voice production both in the adult and newborn.

The mean time between neck dissection and the chemoradiation was 24 days (+/-12 days). Only two patients (2.5%) experienced wound complications. A 'boost' radiation of 14 Gy was delivered after 49 neck dissections (61%) in patients with extracapsular spread. The rate of disease control within the regional nodes was 90%. The Kaplan-Meier 1- and 2- year overall survival rates were 78% and 43%, respectively, and specific survival rates were 88% and 67%, respectively.