We reviewed the recurrence rate and possible factors influencing recurrence of preauricular sinus after excision. Seventy-one patients with 73 preauricular sinuses seen at our centre from year 2000 to 2005 were reviewed in this study. The overall recurrence rate was 14.1%. Twelve sinuses needed to be drained for an abscess prior to a definitive surgery. Different modalities used in demonstrating the sinus tract between methylene blue alone and probing together with methylene blue, showed different outcomes, which were statistically significant with a p value of < 0.05(chi-square test). A preauricular sinus with a previous history of infection or actively infected during the definitive surgery may have a higher tendency of recurrence. Meanwhile demonstrating the sinus tract by probing with lacrimal probe/sinus probe followed by injection of methylene blue reduces the recurrence rate (p < 0.05 with chi-square test).
We reported a patient with an extensive benign sinonasal squamous papilloma in the right nasal cavity with involvement of right sphenoid, ethmoid, maxillary sinuses and intracranial extension. This tumour is rare with very few reported cases in the literature of such extensive in nature. The tumour is excised completely with combined endoscopic transnasal and transcranial approaches. The patient remains disease free at a year interval of follow-up.
We report a male patient of Graves' Disease with bilateral exophthalmos who had undergone bilateral transnasal endoscopic orbital decompression with subsequent improvement of 3 mm in orbital proptosis bilaterally without any complications. Transnasal endoscopic orbital decompression is recommended as an alternative to traditional decompression techniques especially for purely cosmetic reasons.
A synthetic tracheostomy tube [non-metallic type] fracturing within three days of insertion is very rare but it could lead to serious complications such as acute asphyxia or sudden death. We report three such cases at our centre. Recommendations are made to closely observe patients on tracheostomy tube in the first seven days post-insertion of the tube.
A 12-year-old boy with moderate to severe bilateral mixed hearing loss was planned for hearing aid placement. During the process of making ear mould impression, the impression material accidentally entered the right middle ear. Removal of the ear mould impression was possible permeatally under general anaesthesia.
Optic neuropathy, an uncommon manifestation occurs in 5% of patients with Graves' ophthalmopathy. Its outcome is good if early and proper treatment given. We reported a 49 years old male patient of Graves' disease with bilateral optic neuropathy. He underwent bilateral transnasal endoscopic orbital decompression with marked improvement of visual acuity bilaterally. The preoperative visual acuity was 6/36 in his right eye and 6/60 in his left eye. Two days after operation, his visual acuity was 6/12 in his right eye and 6/24 in his left eye. Transnasal endoscopic orbital decompression is a choice of treatment in optic neuropathy in thyroid ophthalmopathy after trial of corticosteroids.
To review the demographics, management and outcome of patients undergoing parotidectomy at a tertiary center. A total of 76 patients who underwent parotidectomies from January 1996 to December 2005 at the ORL department of our center were reviewed. All clinical, operative, postoperative, histology data were gathered and reviewed. Fine-needle aspiration cytology (FNAC) was diagnostic in 90% of patients with a sensitivity of 76% and specificity of 96%. Twenty-one patients had malignant tumours and the rest had benign or inflammatory lesions. There were a total of 48 superficial and 28 total parotidectomies performed. Facial nerve palsy occurred in 30 (39%) patients with 4% permanent palsy and 35% temporary palsy. The recurrence rate of pleomorphic adenoma was 2.6%. FNAC and CT scan were performed prior to the surgery were useful guidance in planning the operation but clinical judgment is more important. The most common surgery performed was superficial parotidectomy and the most common cause was due to pleomorphic adenoma. The incidence of complications and recurrence of tumour are comparable to other international studies. Prior knowledge of anatomy and careful planning is needed to decrease the incidence of facial nerve palsy.
This is a retrospective study that aimed to examine the outcomes of patients presenting with juvenile nasopharyngeal angiofibroma (JNA) at a tertiary centre in Malaysia.
This is a retrospective study. The objective of this study is to review the factors influencing the outcome of treatment for the patients presented with idiopathic facial nerve paralysis. The demographic data, clinical presentation and management of 84 patients with idiopathic facial nerve paralysis (Bell's palsy) were collected from the medical record office, reviewed and analyzed from 2000 to 2005. Thirty-four (72.3%) out of 47 patients who were treated with oral prednisolone alone, fully recovered from Bell's palsy meanwhile 36 (97%) out of 37 patients who were treated with combination of oral prednisolone and acyclovir fully recovered. The difference was statistically significant. 42 (93.3%) out of 45 patients who presented within three days to our clinic, fully recovered while 28 (71.8%) out of 39 patients presented later then three days had full recovery from Bell's palsy. The difference was statistically significant. The outcome of full recovery is better with the patients treated with combined acyclovir and prednisolone compared with prednisolone alone. The patients who were treated after three days of clinical presentation, who were more than 50 years of age, who had concurrent chronic medical illness and facial nerve paralysis HB Grade IV to VI during initial presentation have reduced chance of full recovery of facial nerve paralysis.
Ingested foreign bodies are a fairly common otorhinolaryngological emergencies encountered in Malaysia. The vast majority of these foreign bodies are fish bones which most commonly are impacted at the level of the cricopharynx. Rarely, however, a foreign body may migrate extraluminally and may even extrude subcutaneously. We report a rare occurrence where a fish bone not only migrated extraluminally, it was found to have migrated into the common carotid artery and the internal jugular vein and required surgical removal.
An aneurysmal bone cyst is a rare bone lesion. Its origin and precise nature remain unknown. It is seen as a locally-destructive, rapidly expandable, benign multicystic mass. We report a 17-year-old boy with an aneurysmal bone cyst of the maxilla, with extensive local involvement and bony destruction that was treated surgically. There was no recurrence noted after four years of follow-up.
Choanal stenosis has recently been recognized as a late complication of radiation therapy for nasopharyngeal carcinoma. The management of velopharyngeal stenosis is challenging with high risk of restenosis. We report a case of velopharyngeal stenosis post-radiotherapy and illustrated the use of mitomycin-C to prevent restenosis. Mitomycin-C application has being shown useful adjunct to surgical technique in managing nasopharyngeal stenosis for surgeons.
To determine whether epithelial migration in the atelectatic tympanic membrane (secondary to any pathology) occurs in a similar fashion to that in the normal (non-pathological) tympanic membrane, by calculating and comparing the epithelial migration rate and pattern.
Tuberculosis can cause extensive osseo-ligamentous destruction at the cranio-vertebral junction, leading to atlanto-axial instability and compression of vital cervico-medullary centres. This may manifest as quadriparesis, bulbar dysfunction and respiratory insufficiency.
We report a very rare case of recurrent nasopharyngeal carcinoma with local involvement of lacrimal sac. The patient was treated with chemotherapy and there was no recurrence noted after 1 year of follow-up.
Intraorbital foreign bodies (IOrbFB) are associated with both sight and life threatening injuries. We report a case of an IOrbFB associated with retrobulbar hemorrhage and injury of the frontal sinus in an 11 year-old boy, after history of fall from the tree. Imaging studies revealed a metallic foreign body (FB) in the orbit and fracture of the walls of the frontal sinus. The usual entry route of an IOrbFB is either through the eye or orbital walls and extremely rare through the paranasal sinuses. This is the first reported case of a FB entering the orbit through the frontal sinus.
OBJECTIVE: Ear, nose and throat foreign bodies are common in ENT clinical practice. This study was designed to establish the local data of otorhinolaryngeal foreign bodies in term of prevalence among paediatric and adult groups, the clinical features, types of foreign body at different sites, and laterality of foreign bodies.
METHOD: This study was carried out at ENT department, Sarawak General Hospital, Malaysia, from 1st January 2005 to 31st December 2009. A total of 1084 cases were included and statistically analyzed.
RESULT: Ear foreign bodies showed the highest incidence which was consisted of 480 (44.3%) cases, followed by nose in 270 (24.9%) cases, pharynx in 251 (23.2%) cases, esophagus in 57 (5.3%) cases and laryngo-tracheobronchial tree in 26 (2.4%) cases. Otorhinolaryngeal foreign bodies occurred more frequently in 0-10 year old age group which constituted 651 (60.1%) cases. The descending order of frequency for foreign body sites in adult was pharynx (17.2%), ear (12.8%), esophagus (3.1%), nose (1.7%) and laryngo-tracheobronchial tree (1.1%). The type of foreign bodies varies with age group and site of foreign body lodgement. In general, common foreign bodies in both adult and children were food related, with the additional of small objects such as plastic toy in paediatric group.
CONCLUSION: Otorhinolaryngeal foreign bodies were found more frequently in children. The types of foreign body were different from age group and sites of foreign body lodgement. The local food constituted the highest incidence of ear, nose, and throat foreign bodies with additional of plastic toys in paediatric group.
Study site: ENT clinic, Sarawak General Hospital, Kuching, Sarawak, Malaysia