Permanent hypoparathyroidism is rare, although transient hypoparathyroidism occurs relatively frequently. Unintentional parathyroidectomy and parathyroid gland autotransplantation do not affect serum calcium levels.

Otitis media with effusion (OME) is a frequent paediatric disorder. The condition is often asymptomatic, and so can easily be missed. However, OME can lead to hearing loss that impairs the child's language and behavioural development. The diagnosis is essentially clinical, and is based on otoscopy and (in some cases) tympanometry. Nasal endoscopy is only indicated in cases of unilateral OME or when obstructive adenoid hypertrophy is suspected. Otitis media with effusion is defined as the observation of middle-ear effusion at consultations three months apart. Hearing must be evaluated (using an age-appropriate audiometry technique) before and after treatment, so as not to miss another underlying cause of deafness (e.g. perception deafness). Craniofacial dysmorphism, respiratory allergy and gastro-oesophageal reflux all favour the development of OME. Although a certain number of medications (antibiotics, corticoids, antihistamines, mucokinetic agents, and nasal decongestants) can be used to treat OME, they are not reliably effective and rarely provide long-term relief. The benchmark treatment for OME is placement of tympanostomy tubes (TTs) and (in some cases) adjunct adenoidectomy. The TTs rapidly normalize hearing and effectively prevent the development of cholesteatoma in the middle ear. In contrast, TTs do not prevent progression towards tympanic atrophy or a retraction pocket. Adenoidectomy enhances the effectiveness of TTs. In children with adenoid hypertrophy, adenoidectomy is indicated before the age of 4 but can be performed later when OME is identified by nasal endoscopy. Children must be followed up until OME has disappeared completely, so that any complications are not missed.

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: MR diagnostic of postoperative recurrent cholesteatomas is difficult. Our purpose was to compare multishot fast spin-echo periodically rotated overlapping parallel lines with enhanced reconstruction (PROPELLER) diffusion-weighted MR imaging (DWI) with array spatial sensitivity encoding technique (ASSET) single-shot echo-planar DWI and late postgadolinium T1-weighted MR imaging for the detection of postoperative recurrent middle ear cholesteatomas with a 3T imaging unit.

This surgical anatomic study aimed to determine (1) the anatomic relation of the laryngeal inferior nerve with the inferior thyroid artery, (2) the existence of extralaryngeal branches of division of the nerve and (3) the size of the nerve seen macroscopically. Two hundred and fifty-one patients underwent thyroid surgery during a period of 30 months. There were 50 males and 201 females. The male population underwent 28 total thyroidectomies, 13 left lobectomies and 9 right lobectomies. The female population underwent 124 total thyroidectomies, 33 left lobectomies and 44 right lobectomies. On the right side: the nerve was found superficial to the artery in 70.24% of females and 51.35% of males, the nerve was divided in 23.81% of females and 21.62% of males and seemed unusually thin in 14.29% of females and 5.41% of males. On the left side: the nerve was found superficial to the artery in 87.26% of females and 95.12% of males, the nerve was divided in 15.29% of females and 14.63% of males and seemed unusually thin in 10.83% of females and 2.44% of males. In conclusion, the inferior laryngeal nerve is characterized by its important anatomic variations, especially on the right side. These variations might be different even between males and females. Knowledge of these variations is very important in order to best identify and preserve the inferior laryngeal nerve during thyroid surgery.

To study the circumstances of diagnosis, predisposing factors, bacteriology and therapeutic management of parapharyngeal abscesses. This retrospective study over a period of 7 years concerned 16 patients hospitalized in an ENT and Head and Neck surgery department for parapharyngeal abscess. All patients were treated by intravenous antibiotics and steroids for 5-7 days. The length of hospital stay was 6-15 days. Parapharyngeal abscesses associated with peritonsillar and retropharyngeal abscess were all initially aspirated transorally for evacuation and bacteriologic examination. Five patients underwent surgical drainage (two via cervical incision, three by immediate tonsillectomy techniques and one by intra-oral drainage). Two patients presented jugular vein thrombosis. No life-threatening complication was observed. Patients were considered to be cured when cervical CT scan performed on D21-45 was normal. Parapharyngeal abscess is the second most common deep neck abscess after peritonsillar abscess. The diagnosis is both clinical and radiologic. CT scan is the best imaging examination for diagnosis and follow-up of parapharyngeal abscess. Non-complicated parapharyngeal abscesses require first-line medical management (intravenous antibiotics (amoxicillin and clavulanic acid) combined with steroids) and follow-up CT scan.