CASE REPORT: A case of an aspergillosis localized in the infratemporal fossa and another case of tuberculosis of the infratemporal fossa originating from the maxillary sinus, is described. The first patient was immunocompromised and showed symptoms of facial numbness; whereas the other was an immunocompetent man who complained of trigeminal neuralgia type pain. It was difficult to differentiate between infection and tumour despite the utilization of computed tomography scans and magnetic resonance imaging.
CONCLUSION: These cases illustrate the need for a high index of suspicion; in addition to endoscopic confirmation and histopathology to establish precise diagnosis and early intervention.
CASE REPORT: A 60-year-old man was presented to the Otolaryngology Department with progressive dyspnoea and dysphagia to solids for over a period of 1 week. Direct laryngoscopy revealed a tumour at the laryngeal aspect of the epiglottis, which prolapsed into the laryngeal inlet each time the patient inspired. This resulted in an inspiratory stridor despite adequate glottic opening and normal mobility of the vocal cords.
CONCLUSION: Therefore, in cases where a ball-valve lesion causes intermittent life-threatening airway obstruction, BSCC of the larynx, though rare, must be considered as a differential diagnosis.
Case Report: This report describes a rare case of metastatic adenocarcinoma of the temporal bone causing Collet-Sicard syndrome, presenting with hearing loss, headache and ipsilateral cranial nerve palsies. The patient was a 68-year old woman initially diagnosed with extensive mastoiditis and later confirmed as having metastatic adenocarcinoma of the temporal bone, based on histopathologic findings.
Conclusion: Clinical presentation of metastatic carcinoma of the temporal bone can be overshadowed by infective or inflammatory conditions. This case report is to emphasize the point that a high index of clinical suspicion is necessary for the early diagnosis of this aggressive disease which carries relatively poor prognosis. This report highlights that it is crucial to suspect malignant neoplasm in patients with hearing loss, headache and cranial nerve palsies.
Case Report: We report two cases with atypical clinical presentation of ectopic thymus and superior herniation of normal thymus. Both of the patients manifested as intermittent midline mass at the suprasternal region during Valsalva manuevre. Unique ultrasound features with the location along the thymic descent together with dynamic assessment of the organ movement were essential to reach the correct diagnosis. Conservative approach was considered in these patients considering the necessity of thymus in the process of puberty.
Conclusion: High index of suspicion is of utmost importance when encounter patient with similar clinical manifestation to avoid unnecessary diagnostic modalities and surgeries. Accurate diagnosis will also alleviate parents' anxiety.
Materials and Methods: The odorant descriptors and distractors of the original version of Sniffin' Sticks were translated into Malay language. It was then tested for familiarity and identifiability in 30 normosmic subjects. The descriptors were replaced until the familiarity of all descriptors and identification rates of odorants achieved ≥ 70%. The validity of the new cultural-adapted version was tested in 60 hypo-anosmic subjects and 60 normosmic subjects with Student t-test. The test-retest reliability was evaluated after two weeks with interclass correlation.
Results: Two odorant descriptors and nine distractors achieved familiarity <70% (13.3% - 66.7%) and were replaced. Another three culturally inappropriate distractors were also replaced. The mean score among the healthy subjects was significantly higher than the subject with smell dysfunction [13.7 (1.12) and 7.3 (3.42); t = 7.24 (df = 34.23), P<0.001]. The coefficient of correlation (r) between test and retest scores was 0.93 (P<0.001).
Conclusion: The cultural adapted Malaysian version of Sniffin' Sticks smell identification test is valid and has high test-retest reliability. This is the first smell identification test validated in Malaysia. It is effective for evaluation of olfactory function in local population.
Case Report: Herein, we present a case of clicking larynx in a young girl followed by an overview of the latest literature on the aetiology and treatment options. This case aims to reinforce the presence of this entity further and subsequently increase its awareness among clinicians.
Conclusion: Expeditious diagnosis is imperative not just for the eventual treatment but also for timely relief to the anxious patients who would have been perplexed by the strange clicking in the throat.
Materials and Methods: We carried out a bibliographic search in PubMed, Scopus and Web of Science databases using relevant keywords. Articles selected were screened by two independent authors based on inclusion and exclusion criteria. Nine papers were singled out according to the eligibility criteria and included in this review. We investigated the articles for pooled sensitivity, specificity, accuracy, positive predictive value and negative predictive value of pre-operative NBI.
Results: The use of NBI examination in the oral cavity revealed higher specificity, sensitivity, positive and negative predictive values and accuracy compared to white light examination for the diagnosis of oral squamous cell cancer (OSCC). In addition, NBI has proved great utility in detecting malignancy features in oral pre-malignant lesions.
Conclusions: This review shows that NBI is a powerful tool for examining oral suspicious lesions. Most of the articles examined revealed high values of sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value, negative predictive value and accuracy in detection of oral malignant and pre-malignant lesions. Therefore, the use of NBI is highly recommended for the early detection of oral cancer and potentially malignant disorders. Future studies should seek to affirm the validity of NBI and in particular to standardize NBI classification.
CASE REPORT: A 36-year-old man presented with a solitary cystic cervical swelling, initially diagnosed as branchial cleft cyst. Fine needle aspiration yielded 18 ml of straw-coloured fluid. During cytological examination no atypical cells were observed. Computed tomography of the neck showed a heterogeneous mass with multiseptation medial to the sternocleidomastoid muscle. Histopathological examination of the mass, post excision, revealed a metastatic lymph node. A suspicious mucosal lesion at the nasopharynx was detected after repeated thorough head and neck examinations and the biopsy result confirmed undifferentiated nasopharyngeal carcinoma.
CONCLUSION: Cystic cervical metastasis may occur in young patients under 40 years. The primary tumour may not be obvious during initial presentation because it mimicks benign branchial cleft cyst clinically. Retrospective review of the computed tomography images revealed features that were not characteristic of simple branchial cleft cyst. The inadequacy of assessment and interpretation had lead to the error in diagnosis and subsequent management. Metastatic head and neck lesion must be considered in a young adult with a cystic neck mass.
CASE REPORT: We report audiological tests and auditory brainstem response (ABR) findings in a 5-year old Malay boy with NS. Despite showing the marked signs of NS, the child could only produce a few meaningful words. Audiological tests found him to have bilateral mild conductive hearing loss at low frequencies. In ABR testing, despite having good waveform morphology, the results were atypical. Absolute latency of wave V was normal but interpeak latencies of wave's I-V, I-II, II-III were prolonged. Interestingly, interpeak latency of waves III-V was abnormally shorter.
CONCLUSION: Abnormal ABR results are possibly due to abnormal anatomical condition of brainstem and might contribute to speech delay.
Case Report: In this paper, an unusual case of bilateral SSNHL secondary to bilateral CVT with rapid and complete recovery is reported. The patient presented with sudden bilateral hearing loss associated with some neurological symptoms. Initial computed tomography (CT) venography revealed a CVT of bilateral transverse sinuses. The patient was started on an anticoagulant and imaging was repeated after five days, revealing the absence of the thrombosis. Serial pure tone audiometry (PTA) showed complete recovery of bilateral hearing within 10 days.
Conclusion: Early detection and intervention may fasten hearing recovery and improve the quality of life. The immediate restoration of venous blood flow and intracranial pressure may lead to the complete recovery of bilateral hearing loss.
Case Report: We report the case of a 58-year-old woman who presented to us with a chief complaint of recurrent right-sided epistaxis and nasal blockage for the past 4 months, which was progressively worsening. Histopathological examination confirmed the presence of a REAH instead of a sinonasal malignancy. The tumor was surgically excised from the lateral nasal wall using electrocautery under endoscopic guidance. The patient was then carefully followed-up after surgery, and the wound was successfully healed 3 months after the initial surgery. There was no evidence of recurrence 6 months after the initial surgery.
Conclusion: This case demonstrates the rare presentation of a REAH, which had arisen from the lateral nasal wall. Clinically, it is difficult to distinguish a REAH from a more notorious mass such as a sinonasal malignancy. Therefore, biopsy is mandatory in all cases of lateral nasal mass in order to rule out malignancy before confirming nasal REAH. Fortunately, as seen in this case, a lateral nasal REAH, once diagnosed, can be safely and easily removed from the lateral nasal wall using electrocautery with good surgical outcomes and a low rate of recurrence.
Case Report: We reported the case of a young male presented with the symptoms of non-specific chronic adenotonsillitis, mild obstructive sleep apnoea, and cervical lymphadenopathy. Subsequently, he underwent adenotonsillectomy and excision of the cervical lymph node with the tissue specimens came back strongly positive for TB. Then, he started using antituberculous medication and recovered well.
Conclusion: The authors would like to highlight this rare clinical entity in which accurate diagnosis is essential for complete treatment.
Case Report: We report a case study of parotid squamous cell carcinoma in a 29-year-old male masquerading as an ear polyp.
Conclusion: Parotid gland primary squamous cell carcinoma is a rapidly advancing neoplasm which carries poor prognosis despite multimodality treatment. Diligent clinical and histopathological evaluation is imperative to discriminate this rare aggressive disease from the metastatic and other primary cancers of the parotid. A high index of suspicion is crucial in refractory aural polyps to arrive at early diagnosis.
Case Report: We present a case of a newborn baby who developed biphasic stridor immediately after a normal vaginal delivery. Endoscopic assessment of the trachea revealed a pulsatile narrowing at the level of the thoracic trachea, suggestive of an external compression. A contrast-enhanced computed tomography scan of the thorax with three-dimensional reconstruction confirmed the diagnosis of DAA with compression of the trachea and esophagus.
Conclusion: Clinicians should strongly consider the possibility of a congenital vascular ring compression should an infant with a normal upper airway present with stridor. A precise diagnosis can be made by radiological examination.
Materials and Methods: This prospective single-blind study was carried out on a total of 240 patients with tympanic membrane perforation at a tertiary referral center. The subjects underwent primary or revision myringoplasty. Grafting success rate and hearing results were measured and the comparison between the primary and revision groups was drawn.
Results: Grafting success rate was reported as 96.6% (112 out of 116 cases) for myringoplasty, while in revision myringoplasty the success rate of 78.2% (97 out of 124 patients) was achieved (P=0.001). Speech reception threshold was 23.1±9.2 dB and 24.9±13.1 dB in the primary and revision groups, respectively (P>0.05). However, the percentage of air-bone gap on audiometry≤20 dB were 83.8% and 76% in the primary and revision groups, respectively (P=0.26).
Conclusion: The findings of the present study have shown that although grafting success was reported significantly better in myringoplasty (tympanoplasty type 1), compared to that in revision myringoplasty, it did not reveal any superiority over revision tympanoplasty regarding the hearing outcomes. No consensus was achieved due to a great number of controversies in the literature.
Case Report: We report a rare case of nasal angiomyolipoma in a young male. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first documented case of angiomyolipoma originating from the posterior end of the inferior turbinate, clinically mimicking juvenile nasopharyngeal angiofibroma (JNA). The tumor was removed completely via coblator-assisted endoscopic sinus surgery. The patient was asymptomatic at a 2-year follow-up.
Conclusion: Nasal AML located in the posterior nasal cavity in a male patient can mimic the presentation of JNA. A computed tomography scan of the paranasal sinuses played an important role in differentiating nasal AML from JNA. The coblator-assisted endoscopic technique is useful in controlling intraoperative hemostasis in the removal of a suspicious vascular tumor.
Case Report: Herein, we reported a 46-year-old man presenting with right nasal block, epistaxis, and epiphora from the right eye for one month. The nasal endoscopy revealed a friable mass arising from the anterior half of the right nasal cavity. Histological findings were suggestive of Ewing sarcoma. A contrast-enhanced computed tomography (CT) scan of the paranasal sinuses showed a soft tissue mass in the right anterior nasal cavity with mucosal thickening in the right maxillary sinus, without any bony erosion or distant metastasis. The patient underwent endoscopic medial maxillectomy with modified Denker's procedure, followed by a 6-cycle course of chemotherapy. He was clinically well after chemotherapy; however, the recent bone scans were suggestive of bone involvement with the tumor.
Conclusion: The EES of paranasal sinus in the head and neck regions is extremely rare and requires exceptional attention due to their adjacent vital structures. The ES diagnosis-related dilemma arises from the numerous differential diagnoses of small round blue cell tumors. In this regard, accurate diagnosis is important, since ES requires a multi-modality approach. Furthermore, early diagnosis and aggressive intervention are crucial to obtain good prognosis and function.
Case Report: Herein, we presented a rare case of a 4-year-old child, who had been diagnosed with a complete bilateral second arch branchial fistula. The excision was made using the bilateral stepladder approach and tonsillectomy.
Conclusion: The bilateral stepladder approach was a feasible method in excising a complete bilateral branchial fistula. However, larger-scale studies should be conducted on the surgical techniques of bilateral branchial fistulae excision in order to optimize the cosmetic outcome of the surgery.