Diseases and procedures

• Nasal obstruction:

  Nasal respiratory difficulty affects people of all ages and can be acute or chronic. There are several causes, among which the most frequent are:

  • Allergic rhinitis: inflammation of the nasal mucosa and turbinates
  • Deviation of the nasal septum
  • Nasal polyps
  • Collapse of the nasal valve
    All of them have treatment, either medicinal or surgical, which in most cases is satisfactory.

• Hearing loss:

  Hearing loss is sometimes associated with age, as from the age of 50 the auditory nerve begins to deteriorate. But it can also occur at younger ages. If the hearing loss is not due to the nerve, it is necessary to consider whether there is a surgical possibility.

  • Among hearing losses due to operable causes, the service frequently practices the repair of tympanic perforation.
  • Treats chronic otorrhoea (discharges) from the ear, intermittent or continuous (includes the treatment of benign chronic otitis media and cholesteatoma).
  • It carries out stapedotomies and stapedectomies in cases of otosclerosis.
  • Performs repermeabilization of strictures of the external auditory canal due to bony or fibrous causes (canaloplasties).
  • Performs tympanoplasty and reconstructive techniques in operated cavities and with hearing loss.

• Sinusitis:

  Inflammation/infection of the bony cavities surrounding the nose (if maxillary, frontal, ethmoidal and sphenoidal), which if not treated properly can have serious ocular or intracranial complications.
  Its treatment can be medicinal or surgical.

• Vertigo:

  Balance losses are very disabling. The main control is in the inner ear, and its dysfunction is the cause of most vertigo (peripheral vertigo). The most common causes of peripheral vertigo are: benign paroxysmal positional vertigo, vestibular neuronitis, vestibular migraine and complicated otitis. The diagnostic tests for the study of vertigo range from clinical examination to consultation (Romberg, Barany, Unterberger, Dix-Hallpike maneuver...) or more specialized tests such as the VHIT (cephalic impulse test) or videonystagmography .

• Swallowing disorders (oropharyngeal dysphagia):

  Diagnostic study of swallowing problems that may appear due to neurological problems, aging, a head and neck pathology or a digestive pathology. Two objective tests are used for the study:

  • Videofibroscopy of swallowing (FEES). It is done in the test cabinet room of the external consultation with the videofibroscope. It is given to eat foods of different textures to assess the type of safe and effective intake.
  • Videofluoroscopy of swallowing. It is a radiological test in which swallowing is analyzed. A form of real-time x-ray called fluoroscopy is used to assess the patient's ability to swallow safely and effectively. The test is generally well tolerated, non-invasive, and can help identify the consistencies of liquids and meals that the patient can safely consume.

  Study with a multidisciplinary team of patients with dysphagia: otorhinolaryngologist, nutritionist, rehabilitation doctor, geriatrician, internist, neurologist, digestologist, nurse.

• Pathology of the salivary glands:

  The salivary glands can become inflamed, infected (parotiditis, submaxilitis, etc.) or give rise to tumors, whether benign or malignant. The diagnosis and treatment of their pathologies is carried out by the ENT.

• Head and neck oncology:

  • oncology Malignant tumors located in the paranasal sinuses, nasopharynx, oropharynx, hypopharynx, larynx, oral cavity, salivary glands, cervical lymph node metastases or some specific head and neck skin tumor such as that of the ear, in which factors such as tobacco are implicated, alcohol, or the human papilloma virus. They represent 5% of all tumors.
    A diagnostic assessment is initially carried out in the rapid diagnostic circuit which includes the first visit, complete examination including fiberoscopy +/- narrow band imaging, the necessary complementary tests (computed tomography, magnetic resonance, etc.) and biopsies. Once the diagnosis has been made, the Oncological Committee of the Head and Neck Functional Unit Bellvitge-ICO, of which the service is a part, proposes therapeutic management. In the case of surgical treatment, it is usually carried out at the centers of the CSI, and in the case of treatment with chemotherapy +/-radiotherapy, they are carried out at the Catalan Institute of Oncology (ICO). The monitoring and rehabilitation of the patient is carried out in a multidisciplinary way between the different professionals (nursing team specialized in head and neck surgery, oncology, radiation oncology, radiology, nuclear medicine, anatomopathology, nutrition and dietetics, rehabilitation, speech therapy, plastic surgery or maxillofacial of the Bellvitge Hospital if necessary, etc.)
  • Benign head and neck pathology. It includes, on the one hand, benign salivary gland tumors (parotid, submaxillary...), benign cervical tumors (cysts, fissures...), oral cavity lesions or others that require diagnosis and may require surgical treatment. On the other hand, diagnostic tests and surgeries are also carried out for hematological pathologies such as lymphoproliferative or infectious ones, such as tuberculosis.

• Laryngology:

  • It studies conditions and alterations of the larynx (vocal cords) that can affect the quality of the voice. A diagnosis is made in an outpatient consultation, which usually requires fiberoscopy and/or stroboscopy. The patient is usually treated in a multidisciplinary manner thanks to the close collaboration with the speech therapy rehabilitation team, and may require surgical treatment.
  • Disorders in the mobility of the vocal cords resulting from neurological disorders and which also require an electromyographic study to confirm the diagnosis and prognosis, or to infiltrate botulinum toxin, a test that is carried out together with neurophysiologists.