TABLE OF CONTENTS

Introduction.

Otorhinolaryngology has always strived to improve the diagnostic and therapeutic possibilities of managing afflicted organs by developing technically and conceptually new and advanced treatment techniques. The endeavor to develop methods with minimized patient discomfort during interventional surgery in the head and neck region was an essential motive which gave rise to the discipline of the medicine. Since fairly recently, the term “minimally invasive surgery” has become firmly established in the domain of general surgery. The possibility for replacing a substantial number of routine operations by endoscopic procedures with low levels of discomfort for the patient and shorter periods of hospitalization has given the term “minimally invasive” even further wide-ranging significance. The present review endeavors to provide an assessment of the current state-of-the-art in otorhinolaryngology, giving special attention to the historical development and pathophysiological fundamentals of this field. Thus, the aim of the work is to describe the sense of tomographic image processing methods for minimally invasive otorhinolaryngology. According to the aim of the work the following tasks were defined: - to give definition of otorhinolaryngology and its subject as well as the methods of diagnostics services in otorhinolaryngology; - describe the ways of surgery application in otolaryngology; - to define the meaning of minimally invasive otorhinolaryngology and its methods.

Recommendations 

  A program plan to advance the state of the art in image-guided minimally invasive procedures in otorhinolaryngology has been presented. The plan includes technology developments and clinical investigations. The goal of the program is to give the physician as much information as possible about the underlying anatomy, so the procedures can be successfully carried out through small incisions with minimal trauma to the patient.This paper described some technology developments to improve the state of the art in image-guided and minimally invasive otorhinolaryngology procedures. The importance of a strong collaboration between technical and clinical personnel cannot be over emphasized. Through teamwork, we believe this technology can improve clinical practice and lead to better patient care.