Bone-anchored hearing aids provide significant benefits over other types of hearing aid, both audiologically and in terms of quality of life. Careful selection of candidates and meticulous follow up are required in order to minimize complications.
A prospective randomized study was undertaken to compare the qualities of calcium sodium alginate (Kaltostat), trousered paraffin gauze, and glove finger packs as nasal packing material following the operation of partial inferior turbinectomy. All three types of packing material were found to be similarly effective in preventing bleeding whilst the packs were in situ. Calcium sodium alginate (Kaltostat) was associated with significantly less bleeding on pack removal than the other two packing materials. Further, irrespective of the material used, leaving the packs in situ for 48 hours produced significantly less bleeding than when they were removed after 24 hours.
The authors undertook a study to evaluate the effectiveness of two methods for providing local anaesthesia of the tympanic membrane for the purpose of inserting a grommet. The methods compared were the application of EMLA (Eutectic Mixture of Local Anaesthetics) cream and the use of iontophoresis. Both methods seem to provide a satisfactory level of local anaesthesia. It was felt that where multiple procedures were to be performed in one outpatient session the use of EMLA cream might be a more efficient technique.
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