The Laryngoscope
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Seventy-three tracheostomies performed in children three years of age and under in a 52-month period are discussed. Thirty-six were under one year of age. Forty-one were performed for upper airway obstruction, 23 for ventilation or suction, and nine for a combination of upper airway obstruction and lower bronchopulmonary disease. ⋯ Sixteen were due to the patients' diseases; four were due to complications of tracheostomy. If serious operative and postoperative complications are avoided, the important factors determining prognosis are the patient's age and the condition for which the tracheostomy was done. The long term results in these patients show this to be true for both survival and duration of tracheostomy.
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Hearing impairment is not often considered a potential complication of general anesthesia; however, four patients who sustained hearing loss following nitrous oxide inhalation anesthesia have recently come to the authors' attention. The cases are presented and middle ear pressure measurements taken during endotracheal inhalation anesthesia with various agents are reported. Factors predisposing to hearing loss during anesthesia are discussed.
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In recent years the cochlear implant has been a subject of much discussion and controversy. The clinician has often been confused by the conflicting reports of success and failure. In this paper the development of the cochlear implant is reviewed and its present status summarized. ⋯ These patients have all benefited from their devices. They are able to perceive background sounds and receive a cadence or rhythm to speech which makes the device helpful in lipreading. None of the patients have developed significant speech discrimination.