Thyrolingual trunk: aberrant branches of the external carotid artery

British Journal of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery May 2017 Volume 55, Issue 4, Pages 437–438 

We recently encountered an anatomical variation of the superior thyroid and lingual branches of the external carotid artery during a modified radical neck dissection. It was a common trunk, arising below the level of bifurcation of the common carotid artery, and we anecdotally named it the thyrolingual trunk (Fig. 1). This subsequently branched into the respective superior thyroid and lingual arteries.

UHCW Research: Al-Ali, S., Elledge, R., Esmil, T. and Walton, G.

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Re: Should we consider devolution of "head and neck" surgery from the specialties of oral and maxillofacial surgery; ear, nose and throat surgery; and plastic surgery?

Br J Oral Maxillofac Surg. 2017 Feb 14. pii: S0266-4356(17)30042-6. doi: 10.1016/j.bjoms.2016.12.019. [Epub ahead of print]

We were interested in Islam’s editorial regarding the devolution of head and neck surgery from the parent specialties that feed into it.1 We have had a devolved arrangement of practice at University Hospitals Coventry and Warwickshire Hospitals NHS Trust since 2003. To the best of our knowledge this is the only service in the country in which this is the case, and it is recognised as such within the clinical and management structure of the hospital. The service has a separate clinical lead, QIPS (Quality, Improvement, and Patient Safety), business, and departmental meetings

UHCW Research: Elledge R, Walton G, Sandhu R, Prasad S and Howe D.

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