The anterior visual pathway can be damaged during surgery of the anterior skull base, the sellar and parasellar area, the orbit, or the paranasal sinuses. Clinical per-operative monitoring of the visual pathway is difficult and damage to the optic nerve is oftenonly determined late. Visual evoked potentials may provide an early indication of reversible change to the visual system and various per-operative monitoring techniques have been used. These techniques show promise but at present they are too cumbersome and give results whichare too variable to be reliable in per-operative monitoring.

The prevalence of otitis media with effusion (OME) in Asia has only been studied in a limited fashion. This preliminary study forms part of a larger study aiming to establish the prevalence of OME in Hong Kong. One hundred and seventy-seven children (from multicultural schools) between the ages of five and 6.03 years were screened for OME using otoscopy and tympanometry. Nine positive screens (5.1 per cent) were obtained for OME. Within this mixed ethnic group, Chinese children had a significantly lower point prevalence (1.3 per cent) than Caucasian children (9.5 per cent) (p<0.05). Although the point prevalence from this mixed ethnic group of children was significantly higher (p<0.05) than that of local Chinese school children (1.95 per cent) by the same group of investigators, the point prevalence in the ethnic Chinese children was comparable. The reason for the lower prevalence of OME in the Chinese population needs further research.

Giuseppe Gradenigo (1859–1926) was an important figure in the development of Otology. Within this paper the authors consider his background and his particularcontributions to the development of various aspects of audiology.

Diagnosis and treatment of 51 cases of parotid tumour seen and treated in King Fahad National Guard Hospital, Riyadh, are discussed here. More emphasis is placed on proper clinical history and physical examination of patients with parotid lump because usually this will provide enough information to the clinician about the nature of the swelling. Imaging studies are helpful in supporting the clinical diagnosis and determining the extent of the lesion particularly in cases of malignant tumours. Fine needle aspiration biopsy needs an expert cytologist for salivary gland neoplasm and the need for proper communication between the surgeon and cytologist is stressed. All 51 cases underwent surgical excision which is the treatment of choice. Follow-up periods were variable and short.