Epidermoid and dermoid cysts represent less than 0.01% of all oral cavity cysts. The cysts can be defined as epidermoid when the lining presents only epithelium, dermoid cysts when skin adnexa are found, and teratoid cysts when other tissue such as muscle, cartilage, and bone are present.In this article, we present the case of an epidermoid cyst, with an oral as well as a submental component, in an 11 year old boy who presented with complaints of a mass in the oral cavity, difficulty chewing and swallowing of solid foods for about 3 years. He was admitted to the otolaryngology department. On examination, a mass displacing the tongue superiorly and posteriorly was noticed. An MRI scan was done and showed a 40 × 35 mm well-circumscribed non-enhancing cystic mass extending from the sublingual area to the level of the thyroid notch. The content of the cyst was homogenous. On examining the neck, a firm swelling was also noticed in the submental area, extending down to the thyroid notch. Under general anesthesia and with nasotracheal intubation, the patient underwent surgical removal of the mass. Extraorally, a midline submental horizontal incision was performed through the mucosa overlying the swelling and the cyst was dissected from the surrounding tissues and removed. On histological examination, acidophilic stratum corneum and basophilic dot like staining of stratum granulosum, which is the hallmark of an epidermoid cyst, were seen. The patient did well postoperatively, and no recurrence was noticed at the 6-months follow-up.

Surgery for cochlear implantation (CI) bears the risks of complication associated with all major surgery, in addition to the particular risks associated with implanting a foreign body into the peripheral auditory system. Here we present a retrospective study involving 227 cochlear implant operations in 205 children to evaluate the rate of intra- and post-operative complications. Complications were defined as major complications, requiring explantation of the device or further operation, causing a significant medical problem, or leading to any degree of facial paralysis or requiring additional hospitalization for treatment; or defined as minor complications, namely those that settled spontaneously, with conservative treatment, with local care and/or with medication alone. In our study there were 15 (6.6 per cent) minor and 28 (12.33 per cent) major complications. The most frequent minor complication was dizziness and vomiting (3.08 per cent), followed by transient hemifacial oedema (1.76 per cent), head pain (1.32 per cent) and mild ataxia (0.4 per cent). The most frequent major complication was trauma to the device (9.69 per cent), followed by cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) gusher (2.2 per cent) and facial paresis (0.4 per cent). All of the device trauma cases were re-implanted. There were neither any life-threatening complications nor any facial nerve paralysis in our implanted children. This study confirms that CI is relatively safe and that major complications are few and within acceptable limits.

Chronic otitis media (COM) patients who had a multichannel device implanted were evaluated regarding surgical problems and technical modifications. In a multicentric study, implantees whose aetiology was COM were retrospectively evaluated. Patients were operated on and evaluated at three different tertiary referral centres: SSK Izmir Hospital Cochlear Implantation (CI) Center (32 cases), Istanbul Marmara University ENT Clinic (six cases), Eskişehir Anadolu University CI Center (one case). Thirty-nine implantees were evaluated with respect to surgical problems, technical modifications, complications and hearing results. All patients had lost their hearings as a result of COM. Three out of 39 cases were children. Thirty-seven of the patients either had a radical cavity or ear converted to radical at the first stage or concomittantly with the implantation. Patients were evaluated in order to find out the best possible surgical solutions to specific problems caused by COM. In seven cases electrode array disrupted the epithelial lining of the cavity despite specific measures. Five of those cases were re-implanted, passing the electrode array through a tunnel under the facial nerve. Seven recent cases were also implanted with the same subfacial route. In all patients but one, satisfactory hearing results were achieved one to five years after implantation (SDS scores with monosyllabic word list were between 59 and 89 per cent, median 67.4 per cent). CI in COM patients necessitates technical modifications. In radical cavities subfacial implantation seems to be a good solution for the protection of the electrode array.

In general, the investigated voice parameters showed similar tendencies to those in otherwise healthy aging persons.