Oral floor ranulas are pseudocysts located in the floor of the mouth that result from the extravasation of mucus from a sublingual gland. Historically, there has been little consensus on the ideal first-line treatment. Currently, definitive treatment involves sublingual gland excision, which can injure the lingual nerve and submandibular duct. Minimally invasive surgical techniques have been proposed, but so far have been associated with a high rate of recurrence.

The so-called piercing–stretching suture technique was performed in 14 naïve adult and paediatric patients (6 females, with a mean age of 20.3 years (range, 7–55 years)). Clinical and ultrasonographic evaluations were performed in all patients; post-operative sialendoscopy was conducted in two paediatric patients.

The surgical procedure was successful in all patients, and complete recovery of the ranula was seen in all but one of the patients who underwent suture replacement. No major or minor complications were encountered.

This minimally invasive procedure may be considered a reliable and first-line treatment for management of simple oral floor ranulas.

This study aimed to compare treatment outcomes in patients with laryngeal and tracheal stenosis treated during and prior to the coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic period.

Patients treated for laryngotracheal lesions with impending airway compromise during the active pandemic period were matched with those treated for similar lesions in the preceding years in a monocentric tertiary hospital setting.

During the pandemic period of 55 days, 31 patients underwent 47 procedures. Seven patients (2 children, 5 adults) had open airway surgery, and one had an operation-specific complication. Twenty-four patients (10 children, 14 adults) underwent 40 endoscopic interventions without any complications. Operation specific results during and prior to the pandemic were comparable.

The management strategy in patients with laryngotracheal lesions and impending airway compromise should not be altered during periods of risk from coronavirus disease 2019. Avoiding a tracheostomy by performing primary corrective surgery or proceeding with a definitive decannulation would be beneficial in these patients to reduce the risk of contagion.

A foreign body is a rare cause of parotid gland obstructive sialadenitis; intra-oral penetration via Stensen's duct is unusual. The relatively recent introduction of interventional sialendoscopy to treat obstructive sialadenitis has allowed surgeons to adopt a gland-sparing approach by means of miniaturised endoscopes and instruments. However, unusual anatomy or pathological conditions can give rise to a risk of intraductal rupture that may lead to a subsequent iatrogenic foreign body.

This paper describes the case of a patient with a 4 mm stone engaged by a broken wire basket stuck in a secondary branch of Stensen's duct.

The iatrogenic foreign body was successfully retrieved by means of sialendoscopy-assisted transfacial surgery.

This is the first reported case of an intraductal rupture of a miniaturised device during interventional sialendoscopy successfully resolved by means of combined endoscopy and external surgery. This proved to be an effective method of rescuing a foreign body stuck in Stensen's duct.

It has been suggested that bacterial biofilms may be a causative factor in the aetiopathogenesis of chronic tonsillitis. Involvement of exhaled nitric oxide has been previously considered, with conflicting findings.

A pilot study was performed to investigate the relationship between exhaled nitric oxide levels and the presence of tonsillar biofilm-producing bacteria in children with chronic tonsillitis.

Tonsillar biofilm-producing bacteria on bioptic specimens taken during tonsillectomy were assessed by means of spectrophotometry.

Analysis was based on 24 children aged 5–10 years (median, 7.5 years). Biofilm-producing bacteria were found in 40.9 per cent of specimens. The median exhaled nitric oxide level was 11.6 ppb (range, 3.2–22.3 ppb). There was a significant relationship between the presence of biofilm-producing bacteria and increased exhaled nitric oxide levels (p = 0.03). Children with exhaled nitric oxide levels of more than 8 ppb were at three times greater risk of developing tonsillar biofilm-producing bacteria than those with lower levels.

Our findings suggest the possibility of discriminating children with chronic biofilm-sustained tonsillar infections on the basis of exhaled nitric oxide levels.

To evaluate modern diagnostic and therapeutic management of juvenile recurrent parotitis, and to show the benefits of operative sialoendoscopy on the basis of our experience in 14 patients and the results of others.

Ultrasonography is sensitive in detecting the pathological features of juvenile recurrent parotitis. Interventional sialoendoscopy is a safe and effective method of treating the disease. In our case series, after a mean follow-up time of 30 months only 5 patients experienced recurrence of symptoms, with a mean symptom-free period of 20 months.

The use of modern, minimally invasive diagnostic tools such as colour Doppler ultrasonography, magnetic resonance sialography and sialoendoscopy represents a new frontier in the management of juvenile recurrent parotitis. Operative sialoendoscopy also has the important therapeutic benefit of reducing the number of recurrences of acute episodes of parotitis, thus giving patients a better quality of life until puberty.