The coronavirus disease (COVID-19) is caused by Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2) and presents with respiratory symptoms which can be life threatening in severe cases. At the start of the pandemic, allergy, asthma, and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) were considered as risk factors for COVID-19 as they tend to exacerbate during respiratory viral infections. Recent literature has not shown that airway allergic diseases is a high-risk factor or that it increases the severity of COVID-19. This is due to a decrease in Angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 (ACE2) gene expression in the nose and bronchial cells of allergic airway diseases. Conventional asthma treatment includes inhaled corticosteroids (ICS), allergen immunotherapy (AIT), and biologics, and should be continued as they might reduce the risks of asthmatics for coronavirus infection by enhancing antiviral defence and alleviating inflammation. Keywords Allergic rhinitis • Asthma • SARS-CoV-2 • COVID-19 • Angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 (ACE2) • Transmembrane protease serine 2 (TMPRSS2) • Inhaled corticosteroids (ICS) • Allergen immunotherapy (AIT)

Background Tympanoplasty is the well-established procedure for closure of perforations of tympanic membrane. Study Design This study was a prospective comparative study. Objective The objective of this study was to compare the hearing improvement and graft uptake rate between dry and wet tympanoplasty performed on tubotympanic type of chronic suppurative otitis media. Materials and Methods One hundred forty patients with tubotympanic type of chronic otitis media were selected and categorized into dry and wet ears. Tympanoplasty was performed using temporalis fascia by underlay technique in all cases. Postoperatively, graft uptake rate and hearing improvement were analyzed. Results The graft uptake rate was equal in both dry and wet ears, which was statistically insignificant. There was no statistically significant difference in the hearing improvement between the dry ears and wet ears (χ – 2.39, p = 0.122). Conclusion Factors such as age, sex, and status of the contralateral ear and wet ear did not have any impact on the postoperative graft uptake of tympanoplasty. There was no difference in the graft uptake between the dry and wet ears and there was no statistically significant difference between hearing improvement in both and wet ears.

Cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) rhinorrhoea is the leakage of CSF through the communication between the subarachnoid space and the nasal cavity. Surgical repair is indicated in all cases of spontaneous leaks, recurrent leaks, leaks that do not stop after conservative management and cases with history of meningitis. We present a rare case of spontaneous (delayed onset post traumatic) CSF rhinorrhoea with multiple defect sites, which was treated with an endonasal endoscopic repair. The patient was asymptomatic for 9 years after surgery, and then presented with a spontaneous left frontal recess CSF leak, which was closed using endonasal approach.

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Implants like silastic, titanium, Gore-Tex and autologous cartilage have been used for type I laryngoplasty. Though rare, implant extrusion or migration, wound infection and airway compromise are some of the complications of medialization laryngoplasty surgery irrespective of the implant used. We document a rare case of bilateral implant migration in a patient who had undergone bilateral medialization laryngoplasty 5 years ago. Gore-Tex extrusion resulted in stridor 5 years after the initial surgery. Endoscopic removal of the extruded implant is advised, if feasible, without the need for tracheostomy or transcervical approach. An update on current knowledge and management of implant extrusion or migration is discussed. How to cite this article: Nerurkar NK, Shukla SC. Stridor due to Bilateral Implant Migration 5 Years after Bilateral Medialization Laryngoplasty. Int J Phonosurg and Laryngol 2012;2(2):82-84.

Introduction The best surgical treatment for otosclerosis is stapedotomy. Various methods are used for creating fenestra, including manual pick, laser, and Skeeter drill. In India, despite several studies on the hearing outcomes of otosclerosis surgery, there exist few studies on small fenestra stapedotomy performed using a microdrill. Hence, we designed this study with the objectives of examining the demographic profile, hearing improvement after surgery, anatomical variations encountered at surgery, effect of microdrill use on bone conduction (BC), and postoperative complications of small fenestra stapedotomy. Methods A prospective study was conducted for 63 patients of otosclerosis. Stapedotomy was performed by the same surgeon on all patients by a transcanal approach under local anesthesia. Small fenestra stapedotomy was performed using Skeeter microdrill. The study proforma included sociodemographic profile, clinical history, examination, audiometry, surgical details, and postoperative findings. Descriptive statistics was used to analyze the data. Results Our study demonstrated a male preponderance (58.7%) over females (41.3%). Of the study population, 31.7% reported a family history of otosclerosis, whereas nine (14.28%) individuals had a history of measles. All four different types of footplates were identified. Most of them were either type 1 (52.4%) or 2 (34.9%). In most cases, the diameter was 0.4 mm (96.8%), a majority of the cases having either 4.25 (22.2%) or 4.5 mm (63.5%) long piston. After stapes surgery, the mean ABG reduced from 39.48 (±9.17) to 13.89 (±7.99) dB. The mean worsening in postoperative BC was only 3.035 dB. Use of microdrill caused only a slight and statistically insignificant decline in BC. Anatomical variation of a narrow oval window niche may require drilling of the bone. In practice, this drilling does not adversely affect the BC of the patient. Some facial nerve variation (partially overhanging facial nerve and exposed facial nerve) may be encountered, but it does not affect the facial nerve function or hearing improvement. On rare occasions, facial paresis may occur on the fifth to sixth postoperative day, even without facial nerve handling. This can be managed conservatively with oral steroids with favorable results. Taste alterations are seen even when the chorda handling is minimal. Complaints are most common in the first few weeks after surgery. Over a 6-month period, only 5% of the patients who underwent surgery were found to have altered taste sensation. Conclusion Microdrill-assisted small fenestra stapedotomy, performed under local anesthesia, with placement of a 0.4-mm Teflon piston for patients with otosclerosis produces excellent results. The complication rates are low, and the surgery has a positive impact on the patient's hearing.

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Objective Subepithelial vocal fold cyst (SEVFC) is an epithelium lined sac within the lamina propria. These cysts are of two histologic types: Mucous retention cyst and epidermoid cyst. Rupture of the cyst during surgical excision and incomplete cyst wall removal with consequent recurrence of the cyst is not an infrequent problem. While performing cold-steel blunt microflap surgery for SEVFC, the first author observed thick fibrotic bands at the 12 and 6 o'clock position in all the cases, giving the appearance of a ‘pearl (cyst) on a string (fibrotic bands)’. In most cases of cyst rupture, it took place during dissection of these bands. The aim of our study was to see if there was any significant difference in rupture and recurrence rate by sharp versus blunt dissection of these fibrotic bands. Study design Retrospective nonrandomized cohort comparison. Materials and methods Fifty-nine subepithelial cysts were operated by microflap technique. The first 26 cysts were taken in alternation for blunt vs sharp dissection of the fibrotic bands. As the results of sharp dissection were better, the subsequent 33 cysts were operated with sharp dissection of the anterior and posterior bands. Results Sharp dissection of the anterior and posterior bands during microflap dissection reduced the incidence of cyst rupture (p = 0.006) and recurrence (p = 0.007) of cyst formation. Conclusion SEVFC are anchored by thick fibrotic bands at the 12 and 6 o'clock position giving it the appearance of a ‘pearl (cyst) on a string (fibrotic bands)’. Sharp dissection of these bands during microflap dissection reduces the incidence of cyst rupture and recurrence. How to cite this article Nerurkar NK, Shukla SC. Subepithelial Vocal Fold Cyst: A Pearl on a String? Int J Phonosurg and Laryngol 2012;2(2):53-56.