Head & neck
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Laryngeal dysfunction after thyroid and parathyroid surgery requires early recognition and a standardized approach for patients that present with voice, swallowing, and breathing issues. The Endocrine Committee of the American Head and Neck Society (AHNS) convened a panel to define the terms "immediate vocal fold paralysis" and "partial neural dysfunction" and to provide clinical consensus statements based on review of the literature, integrated with expert opinion of the group. ⋯ After endorsement by the AHNS Endocrine Section and Quality of Care Committee, it received final approval from the AHNS Council.
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Postoperative radioactive iodine (RAI) administration is widely utilized in patients with differentiated thyroid cancer. While beneficial in select patients, it is critical to recognize the potential negative sequelae of this treatment. The prevention, diagnosis, and management of the salivary and lacrimal complications of RAI exposure are addressed in this consensus statement. ⋯ Salivary and lacrimal complications secondary to RAI exposure are common and need to be weighed when considering its use. The recommendations included in this statement provide direction for approaches to minimize and manage these complications.
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Central neck scars following thyroidectomy can negatively impact patient quality of life. Transoral endoscopic thyroidectomy can reduce postoperative cosmetic burden. ⋯ Transoral thyroidectomy provides significantly enhanced early cosmesis over the transcervical approach.
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Randomized Controlled Trial
Two-year follow-up of a randomized phase III clinical trial of nivolumab vs. the investigator's choice of therapy in the Asian population for recurrent or metastatic squamous cell carcinoma of the head and neck (CheckMate 141).
The present study evaluated the 2-year survival of the Asian population in the CheckMate 141 trial. ⋯ NCT02105636.
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Identification of risk factors for perioperative complications helps in the prognostication. We wanted to determine whether Physiological and Operative Severity Score for the enumeration of mortality and morbidity (POSSUM) and Portsmouth-POSSUM (P-POSSUM) can be used in patients undergoing head and neck oncosurgery. ⋯ We found that POSSUM had moderate discrimination and good calibration for morbidity prediction in head and neck cancer surgeries, as well as for the selected subgroup.