Background: We aimed to evaluate the effect of sarcopenia on survival in head and neck squamous cell carcinoma patients treated with chemoradiotherapy. Materials & methods: Disease-free survival an... Plain language summary Head and neck cancer is one of the main causes of cancer-related death worldwide. Most patients are diagnosed in the advanced stage. Muscle wasting with significant weight lo... Tweetable abstract Sarcopenia may be a potential prognostic biomarker for head and neck squamous cell carcinoma patients. Sarcopenic patients have significantly worse survival rates and are more su...

OBJECTIVE: The aim was to evaluate surgical techniques and their relationship to postoperative success rate and hearing outcomes in acquired atresia of the external auditory canal. MATERIALS and METHODS: In this article, 24 patients with acquired atresia of the external auditory canal were retrospectively evaluated regarding their canal status, hearing, and postoperative success. RESULTS: Acquired stenosis occurs more commonly in males with a male: female ratio of 2–3:1; it seems to be a disorder affecting young adults. Previous ear surgery (13 patients, 54.2%) and external ear trauma (11 patients, 45.8%) were the main etiological factors of acquired ear canal stenosis. Mastoidectomy (12/13) and traffic accidents (8/11) comprise the majority of these etiological factors. Endaural incision is performed in 79.2% and postauricular incision for 20.8% of cases during the operation. As types of surgical approach, transcanal (70.8%), transmastoid (20.8%), and combined (8.4%) approaches are chosen. The atretic plate is generally located at the bony–cartilaginous junction (37.5%) and in the cartilaginous canal (33.3%); the bony canal is involved in a few cases only. Preserved healthy canal skin, split- or full-thickness skin grafts, or pre- or postauricular skin flaps are used to line the ear canal, but preserved healthy canal skin is preferred. CONCLUSION: The results of surgery are generally satisfactory, and complications are few if surgical principles are followed.