Computed tomography in E.N.T. practice: an evaluation of two years' experience in British sub-regional centre

The radiological service for otorhinolaryngology in a British subregional centre has been altered by the availability of a general purpose C.T. scanner. Two years' experience with the scanner is reviewed with an attempt to assess how aspects of the improved imaging affected management of patients. The greatest benefit has been in the demonstration of lesions in the perinasal region and C.T. is now the next investigation of choice after plain sinus films, virtually replacing conventional tomography. Computed tomography seems to have little to offer at present for the management of laryngeal lesions, and multidirectional tomography is still the most important means of investigating the temporal bone, despite the difficulty in interpreting the thin low-contrast sections. A simple protocol for the investigation of acoustic neuromas, and a means of certainly excluding the presence of one by demonstrating the structures within the internal auditory meatus, is described.