Recent Advances in Otolaryngology – Head & Neck Surgery: Volume 3

This book was a chance finding, something I only discovered whilst reviewing a very similar title from the same publishers. The earlier work featured some very sophisticated laboratory work and concentrated its attentions on a smaller selection of topics, explored in depth.

This is actually easier reading for the casual browser and covers a wider range of topics. This review could easily turn into a list of chapter contents (very easily, as much thought and imagination has gone into their selection). You would expect to see stereotactic radiosurgery for the vestibular schwannoma, endoscopic ear surgery, repair of cerebrospinal fluid leaks or botulinum toxin, although these are perhaps not that ‘recent’ as advances. Yesterday’s advances soon become today’s mainstream practice.

My favourite chapters were those on tinnitus therapy (yes, I was just as surprised), robotic surgery for obstructive sleep apnoea (OSA) and geriatric otolaryngology (even if the disorders listed seemed disturbingly familiar to this reviewer).

The multi-author work reviews 19 topics, ranging from personalised therapy for head and neck cancer, through hypoglossal nerve stimulation for OSA, to genetics in otolaryngology and measuring quality of life in nasal surgery (now that is a clever and novel idea). There is some duplication; for example, Image Guidance in Sinus Surgery (Chapter 2) and Computer-assisted Surgery of the Paranasal Sinuses and Skull Base (Chapter 19), or Implantable Hearing Aids (Chapter 10) and Some Mechanical Aspects of Implant Coupling (Chapter 12).

The quality of print and illustration is excellent, and this is quite an inspiring read. The authors have collected a series of very impressive and authoritative reviews. Notably, the references used are nicely updated. We are not quite stuck in the rut that the worldwide recession seemed to suggest, and this is a nice glimpse into the future.