OBJECTIVE Use of the SMart piston, a nitinol-based, self-crimping prosthesis in stapes surgery may allow improved functional results because of better sound transmission properties at the incus-prosthesis interface because of the elimination of manual crimping. Possible disadvantages include thermal damage or strangulation of the incus and its mucoperiosteum or nickel intolerance. The goal of t...

OBJECTIVES/HYPOTHESIS Primary tracheoesophageal puncture (TEP) is a well-described and accepted method of surgical voice restoration and is standardly completed with a catheter placement intraoperatively, which is replaced with a prosthesis at a later date. This study evaluates the intraoperative placement of the voice prosthesis at the time of the primary TEP in an effort to understand the pot...

INTRODUCTION AND AIMS Tympanic middle ears have evolved multiple times independently among vertebrates, and share common features. We review flexibility within tympanic middle ears and consider its physiological and clinical implications. COMPARATIVE ANATOMY The chain of conducting elements is flexible: even the 'single ossicle' ears of most non-mammalian tetrapods are functionally 'double os...

Ossicular repositioning and ossicular prostheses are said to offer an oppotunity to preserve the air space of the middle ear and improve the transmission of sound to the stape footplate. Depending upon the pathological circumstances, any convenient remaining portion of the auditory ossicles may be used to reconstruct a functioning ossicular chain. But the problem of reconstruction is not simple...

Loss of the external ear can be congenital or acquired due to accidental trauma malignant disease. Patients usually seek prosthetic treatment for defects in head and face area when they feel that their function esthetics are compromised. Literatures show most prosthesis fabricated adult patients. Most time, dependence children on parents decision making finances overshadows psychological needs ...

An adhesion is a band of scar tissue that binds two parts of the tissue together, which develops when the body's repair mechanisms respond to any tissue disturbance, such as surgery, infection, trauma, or radiation. Prevention of unwanted scar bands is of utmost importance to develop esthetic and healthy tissue. This article describes a technique to prevent the adhesion of the surgically recons...

Introduction Titanium implants can be regarded as the current gold standard for restoration of sound transmission in the middle ear following destruction of the ossicular chain by chronic inflammation. Many efforts have been made to improve prosthesis design, while less attention had been given to the role of the interface. We present a study on chemical nanocoating on microstructured titanium ...

Goldenhar syndrome is a rare congenital anomaly involving the first and second branchial arches. It has been reported with the incidence between 1:3500 and 1:5600, with a male: female ratio of 3:2. The exact etiology is unknown. Most of the cases have been sporadic. This paper presents a rare case of Goldenhar syndrome in a 6 year old boy reported to us for the fabrication of removable ear pros...