Revision stapes surgery is less likely to be successful than the primary operation. Closure of the air-bone gap to within 10 dB was achieved in 52.4% of patients. The success rate was better in cases where the original prosthesis was replaced with a new one. The risk for decreased bone-conduction threshold does not seem to be higher than in primary surgery.

The authors have studied the anatomy of the external branch of the superior laryngeal nerve in its entirety on 40 fresh cadavers, and they have drawn the following conclusions: the nerve ramifies from the vagus immediately below the nodose ganglion or in the ganglion itself. The nerve splits into two branches approximately 1.5 cm below the ganglion nodosum. In four cases, both branches originated from the vagus itself. In one case, anastomosis of the external branch of the superior laryngeal nerve with the recurrent nerve was found. The external branch of the superior laryngeal nerve is not usually severed at supraglottic laryngectomy but the nerve is at risk during neck dissections, resection of Zenker's diverticula and thyroidectomy. An accurate knowledge of its course should reduce the incidence of injury to the branches of the superior laryngeal nerve during surgery.

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ON the basis of clinical and histologic examination, history and epidemiologic survey of 591 patients with vocal cord polyps, the authors evaluate the morphology of the pathologic substrate, indicate possible pathogenesis and analyse the most frequent factors in the formation of polyps such as vocal abuse and unfavourable microclimate at work. Sex does not play any role in the incidence, and the histologic structure is not related to the time factor.

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