The aim of this paper is to present our results and experience in the treatment of snoring using the non-ablative Erbium: Yttrium Aluminum Garnet (Er:YAG) laser. Twenty-four patients (18 male and 6 female) with snoring problems due to soft palate hypertrophy were treated with 3 treatment procedures with Er:YAG 2940-nm laser (long pulse mode, 10 Hz, fluence 1.8-2.0 J/cm 2) performed at 2-week intervals. The treatment procedures were performed in outpatient settings. One treatment session lasts 15-20 min. Subjective (questionnaires) and objective (polygraph) outcome measures were assessed at baseline and 3 months after the final laser treatment. Wilcoxon Signed Rank was used to compare before and after scores. All polygraph variables showed some improvement 3 months after the end of treatment; however, only the reduction of the number of hypopnea episodes per hour was statistically significant (p = 0.034). In 13/24 patients, snoring time accounted for less than 5% of the sleep time after the treatment compared to 6/24 patients at baseline. The questionnaire survey showed statistically significant improvement in the quality of sleep and life of the patients as well as their partners after Er:YAG treatment (p < 0.001). The assessment of daytime sleepiness using the Epworth scale also improved 3 months after the end of treatment (p = 0.010). Based on our observations, the treatment of snoring with the Er:YAG laser is an effective and non-invasive therapeutic method. Further studies with long-term follow-up and a control group are warranted to confirm the promising results obtained in case series.

Background. Computational fluid dynamics (CFD), a rapidly developing instrument with a number of practical applications, allows calculation and visualization of the changing parameters of airflow in the upper respiratory tract.

Head and neck tumors can be very challenging to treat because of the risk of problems or complications after surgery. Therefore, prompt and accurate diagnosis is extremely important to drive appropriate treatment decisions, which may reduce the chance of recurrence. This paper presents the original research exploring the feasibility of Fourier transform infrared (FT-IR) and Raman spectroscopy (RS) methods to investigate biochemical alterations upon the development of the pleomorphic adenoma. Principal component analysis (PCA) was used for a detailed assessment of the observed changes and to determine the spectroscopic basis for salivary gland neoplastic pathogenesis. It is implied that within the healthy margin, as opposed to the tumoral tissue, there are parts that differ significantly in lipid content. This observation shed new light on the crucial role of lipids in tissue physiology and tumorigenesis. Thus, a novel approach that eliminates the influence of lipids on the elucidation of biochemical changes is proposed. The performed analysis suggests that the highly heterogeneous healthy margin contains more unsaturated triacylglycerols, while the tumoral section is rich in proteins. The difference in protein content was also observed for these two tissue types, i.e. the healthy tissue possesses more proteins in the anti-parallel β-sheet conformation, whereas the tumoral tissue is dominated by proteins rich in unordered random coils. Furthermore, the pathogenic tissue shows a higher content of carbohydrates and reveals noticeable differences in nucleic acid content. Finally, FT-IR and Raman spectroscopy methods were proposed as very promising methods in the discrimination of tumoral and healthy tissues of the salivary gland.

Penetrating neck traumas are traumas that pass through the platysma muscle, and they account for 5% to 10% of all neck traumas. Penetrating head traumas can damage vital structures such as the airways, esophagus, major nerves and vessels. Thus, patients with penetrating neck traumas should be treated in hospital, and doctors should be careful when deciding on the best treatment. Currently, the need for surgery can be established based on imaging tests, clinical status of the patient, medical history, physical examination, and laboratory tests. Exploratory surgery is not necessary particularly because it is associated with complications. We present two patients with penetrating neck traumas who were treated in our center: a 22-year-old patient with a foreign body that, for two years, mimicked a tumor, and a 45-year-old patient with a stab wound requiring immediate treatment. In the first patient, finding the foreign body earlier would have allowed an immediate removal, which would have prevented subsequent surgery and reduced the risks of leaving the foreign body in the neck. In the second patient, immediate contrast-enhanced computed tomography (CT) of the neck showed a foreign body, its size and position, which helped to plan surgery. Conclusions: In hemodynamically stable patients with penetrating neck traumas, doctors should choose the best treatment based on imaging, medical history, and physical examination.