The defense takes place

Thursday, February 15th, 2024. Time: 14:00 am
At Aalborg University
Place: Medicinerhusets Auditorium

Both visual and audio access will be provided for online attendees,
but they will not be able to submit comments or questions during the
defense. If you wish to receive a link, please contact Mette Bjerre at
m.bjerre@rn.dk

After the defense there will be held a reception. All are welcome.

 

PhD main Supervisors

• Clinical Professor, PhD, MD, Michael Gaihede, Department of Otorhinolaryngology, Head& Neck Surgery and Audiology, Aalborg University Hospital and Aalborg University, Denmark

 

PhD co-supervisors

• Clinical Professor, PhD, MD, Jens Brøndum Frøkjær, Department of Radiology, Aalborg University Hospital and Aalborg University, Denmark

• Clinical Associate Professor, MD, Yousef Yavarian, Department of Radiology, Aalborg University Hospital and Aalborg University, Denmark

 

Assessment Committee

• Clinical Professor, dr. med., PhD, Henrik Vorum (chair), Aalborg University, Demark

• Clinical Professor, med. dr., Krister Tano, Umeå University, Sweden

• Clinical Associate Professor, PhD, Bjarki Ditlev Djurhuus, Copenhagen University, Denmark

 

About the PhD thesis

Middle Ear (ME) cholesteatoma, a common inflammatory ME condition, involves abnormal growth of keratinized tissue inside the ME,
leading to possible bone erosion. It's typically caused by abnormal
negative pressure in the ME, forming retraction pockets and concurrent inflammation with repeated ME infections with otorrhea, potentially causing serious complications like hearing loss and intracranial
issues.

Diagnosis can be difficult due to the complex anatomy of the ME, and
MR scanning plays an increasingly important role. Treatment of ME
cholesteatomas is exclusively surgical removal with reconstruction of
ME structures, but recidivism is a major problem over time.

Study I: Focused on the preoperative use of PROPELLER DWI MR
scannings, this study revealed a high diagnostic accuracy (89%) in
identifying both primary and recurrent ME cholesteatomas. It emphasized the role of the Apparent Diffusion Coefficient (ADC) in enhancing the diagnostic precision.

Study II: This study examined the long-term effects of cholesteatoma
surgery including cases with mastoid obliteration. The overall rate of
recidivism was 9% with notable higher rates in children compared to
adults. The importance of age and the type of cholesteatoma is underscored in determining the surgical outcomes and recidivism.

Study III: Investigating the efficacy of non-EPI DWI MR scanning in
long-term follow-up, this study showed a high accuracy in monitoring
cholesteatoma recidivism. This offered a significant advancement in
postoperative assessments compared to second-look surgery.

Study IV: Focusing on post-surgical quality of life using the Glasgow
Benefit Inventory, this study established strong correlations between
subjective symptoms like otorrhea and hearing improvements against
the overall quality of life. Such patient-reported outcome measures
are equally important in long-term follow-up of cholesteatoma patients after surgery.

 

Contact information

You can contact Suzan Al Kole if you have any questions about the defense by clicking here on her e-mail.

Suzan Al Kole, MD
E-mail: suak@rn.dk
Aalborg University Hospital
Department of Otorhinolaryngology, Head & Neck Surgery and Audiology
9000 Aalborg