The tongue is paramount to natural speech and swallowing, and good tongue function is important in the overall quality of life. Autologous free-flap reconstruction of the tongue after glossectomy allows for adequate speech, swallow, and quality-of-life outcomes in a majority of patients. Herein, the authors review autologous free-flap reconstruction of the tongue with a focus on different flap options, speech and swallow outcomes, quality-of-life outcomes, and factors that affect how patients perform after tongue reconstruction.

Skull base extirpative and reconstructive surgery has undergone significant changes due to technological and operative advances. While endoscopic resection and reconstruction will continue to advance skull base surgery for the foreseeable future, traditional open surgical approaches and reconstructive techniques are still contemporarily employed as best practices in certain tumors or patient-specific anatomical cases. Skull base surgeons should strive to maintain a working knowledge and technical skill set to manage these challenging cases where endoscopic techniques have previously failed, are insufficient from anatomical constraints, or tumor biology with margin control supersedes the more minimally invasive approach. This review focuses on the reconstructive techniques available to the open skull base surgeon as an adjunct to the endoscopic reconstructive options. Anatomic considerations, factors relating to the defect or patient, reconstructive options of nonvascular grafts, local and regional flaps, and free tissue transfer are outlined using the literature and author's experience. Future directions in virtual surgical planning and emerging technologies will continue to enhance open and endoscopic skull base surgeon's preparation, performance, and outcomes in this continually developing interdisciplinary field.

Epidermal inclusion cysts are common lesions that rarely develop into squamous cell carcinoma (SCC). Neoplastic change in these cysts can be associated with prominent symptoms such as pain, rapid growth, or ulceration. This study describes the case of a 64-year-old woman with a 4-year history of a largely asymptomatic neck mass, which after routine excision was found to be an epidermal inclusion cyst harboring well-differentiated SCC. The diagnosis was made incidentally after routine cyst bisection and hematoxylin and eosin staining. Given the potential for variable presentation and low cost of hematoxylin and eosin analysis, we recommend a low threshold for a comprehensive pathological search for malignancy in excised cysts when appropriate.

Background: While papillary thyroid carcinoma (PTC) is associated with high occult central neck metastasis (CNM) rates, prophylactic central neck dissection (pCND) is controversial. This meta-analysis aims to look at the occult CNM rate according to tumor size. Methods: A literature search was conducted in PubMed from inception to April 2023. Inclusion criteria were primary studies that determined occult CNM rates in cN0 PTC by tumor size. Heterogeneity, influential case diagnostics, and proportion data were evaluated with Cochran’s Q-test, Baujat plots and Forest plots, respectively. Results: Fifty-two studies were included in this meta-analysis. The findings demonstrated an occult CNM rate of 30.3% for tumors ≤ 5 mm, 32.7% for tumors ≤ 1 cm, 46.0% for tumors between 1 and 2 cm, 43.1% for tumors between 2 and 4 cm, and 61.2% for tumors > 4 cm. The heterogeneity of each study group was high, though no publication bias was noted. While there was a trend towards increased occult CNM rates with larger tumors, comparisons between different size cutoffs varied in significance. Conclusion: This comprehensive review affirms that occult CNM is high and that an ipsilateral pCND can be justified in all PTC patients for accurate differentiation between Stage I and Stage II disease and its clinical implications.