Choanal stenosis is a well recognized late complication of radiotherapy for nasopharyngeal carcinoma. However velopharyngeal stenosis post radiotherapy for nasopharyngeal carcinoma is rare. We present here a case of bilateral choanal stenosis and velopharyngeal stenosis in a patient treated with radiotherapy for nasopharyngeal carcinoma. A 58-year-old woman presented to our otolaryngology clinic with a one year history of nasal obstruction. She was diagnosed to have nasopharyngeal carcinoma 12 years ago for which she received radiotherapy. Clinical examination revealed bilateral choanal stenosis and velopharyngeal stenosis. Treatment of choanal stenosis and velopharyngeal stenosis is challenging due to high incidence of recurrence and patients frequently require multiple procedures. The patient underwent a transnasal endoscopic excision of velopharyngeal scar tissue and widening of posterior choana using Surgitron®, mitomycin-C applied topically to the surgical wound and bilateral stenting under general anesthesia. The stents were kept for two weeks, and 3 years post operation velopharyngeal aperture and posterior choana remained patent. As illustrated in this case velopharyngeal stenosis can occur after radiotheraphy and should not be overlooked. Combine modality of transnasal endoscopic excision of velopharyngeal scar tissue, widening of choanal stenosis with Surgitron® followed by the application of mitomycin-C and stenting has been shown to be an effective option.
Study site: ENT clinic, University Malaya Medical Centre (UMMC), Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
High intraocular pressure is a rare ophthalmic condition associated with infantile hemangiomas that involves the orbit, eyelid, or both. Here, we describe a patient with extensive facial and orbital infantile hemangiomas associated with high intraocular pressure in the affected eye. The prompt management of this challenging condition is essential.
Better methods are required to identify patients with asymptomatic carotid stenosis (ACS) at risk of future stroke. Two potential markers of high risk are echolucent plaque morphology on carotid ultrasound and embolic signals (ES) in the ipsilateral middle cerebral artery on transcranial Doppler ultrasound (TCD). We explored the predictive value of a score based on these 2 measures in the prospective, observational, international multicenter Asymptomatic Carotid Emboli Study.
Klebsiella ozaenae is a Gram negative bacillus. It has been described as a colonizer of oral and nasopharyngeal mucosa and is a cause of atrophic rhinitis. Klebsiella ozaenae has seldom been isolated from serious infections. However, several reports have stated that Klebsiella ozaenae may cause invasive infections and even mortality. We report a 55-year-old man with Klebsiella ozaenae infection causing abscesses involving the right eye and left kidney and possibly also in the brain, lungs and prostate. The isolates were sensitive to ceftazidime, ciprofloxacin, chloramphenicol, gentamicin and sulfamethoxazole-trimethoprim but resistant to ampicillin. He responded well to 4 weeks of i.v. ceftazidime and i.v. amoxycillin-clavulanic acid. To our knowledge, such a multiorgan infection has not been reported previously for this organism.
Ocular hypertension caused by endogenous Cushing syndrome from an ectopic adrenocorticotropic hormone-producing tumor is rare. We report an 11-year-old boy who presented with intraocular pressures (IOPs) of 50 mm Hg in both eyes. Surgical resection of the tumor was performed with subsequent normalization of serum cortisol and IOP levels.
Sinusitis is a rare cause of optic neuritis in children. This case illustrates bilateral optic neuritis in a 9-year-old child caused by pansinusitis. It demands an accurate diagnosis with a prompt management. A proper treatment of sinusitis is essential to prevent this complication.
Patients with multiple malignant primary tumours are often described, based on their chronology of presentation, as simultaneous, synchronous or metachronous tumours. Lung malignancies presenting in association with head and neck tumours are well documented while there have been small series of thyroid synchronous cancers presenting with laryngeal lesions in literature. No cases, to our knowledge, have been reported in literature of a single patient with all three laryngeal, lung and thyroid malignancies. We report one such case of a 71-year-old Chinese man who had undergone a total laryngectomy for a recurrent cancer of the larynx only to be found to have tumours of the lung and thyroid in the post-operative period and he eventually died of post-operative complications. We also discuss screening for lung and thyroid malignancies in patients with head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (SCC).
We reported a case of orbital rhabdomyosarcoma with an intracranial extension in an HIV-infected child. It was an uncommon sarcoma in a retroviral-positive patient that resulted in a diagnostic and therapeutic dilemma. The child is currently asymptomatic following surgery, chemotherapy, and reinstitution of highly active retroviral therapy (HAART).
A 12-year old girl presented with an unusual problem of recurrent discharging multiple skin sinuses on her right anterior and posterior chest wall for a year. There was ipsilateral lower lobe pneumonia and imaging showed multiple abscesses in her lower back muscles bilaterally. A purulent fluid was aspirated from her back muscles and the histology examination showed sulphur granules with gram positive branched filaments. She responded well to the treatment for actinomycosis with penicillin and doxycycline.
Sensorineural hearing loss (SNHL) due to internal auditory canal (IAC) stenosis with hypoplasia of the cochleovestibular nerve is a rare disorder. The diagnosis of the IAC stenosis requires both high resolution computed tomography scan (HRCT) and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI).
Surgical navigation systems have been used increasingly in guiding complex ear, nose, and throat surgery. Although these are helpful, they are only beneficial intraoperatively; thus, the novice surgeon will not have the preoperative training or exposure that can be vital in complex procedures. In addition, there is a lack of reliable models to give surgeons hands-on training in performing such procedures.
A few series of parapharyngeal space tumours have been reported earlier but recently not many series have been published in English literature. It is rare for any medical center, let alone an individual surgeon, to develop sufficient experience in evaluating these tumours. We present our experience in the treatment of 41 cases of parapharyngeal tumours from January 1992 to December 2001. FNAC, ultrasound and CT scan of the presenting mass was done in most of the patients as the main pre-operative work-up. The strategic location and extension of the tumour may occasionally alter the surgical approach for tumour excision.
The clinical presentation and behaviour of giant cell tumour of bone vary. The progression of the disease and metastasis are unpredictable, but the overall prognosis is good. Six patients with pulmonary metastases of giant cell tumour have been treated at our institution since 1998. This represents 15% of all patients treated for giant cell tumour of the bone. Early detection and treatment of this tumour is important as complete resection of this tumour have favourable prognosis. Multiple lung nodules which preclude resection may remain dormant and asymptomatic with systemic chemotherapy.
A case of traumatic posterior cruciate ligament (PCL) avulsion fracture presenting with unusual radiographic findings is described. CT scan of the right knee showed features suggestive of combined ACL and PCL avulsion fractures. Arthroscopic findings showed that the injury was in fact a PCL avulsion fracture that was displaced anteriorly so as to mimic an ACL avulsion fracture on CT scan.
Reconstructive surgeons often encounter complex soft tissue and skeletal defects following oncological surgery. Soft tissue defects after wide resection in upper extremities posses a difficult challenge to find adequate tissue for reconstructing these defects. Paucity of local tissues dictates the requirement of loco-regional or distant flaps for these complex soft tissue defects which often exposes tendons, bones, nerves and joints. The latissimus dorsi muscle is a near ideal flap for the reconstruction because of the long neurovascular pedicle, ease of mobilization and its expendability. It can be rotated, with or without overlying skin, to cover soft tissue defects of the shoulder arm and elbow. Due to the large size of the muscle, it can be used to resurface the soft tissue defects and cover all major structures. Eleven consecutive cases were reviewed in which latissimus dorsi myocutaneous flap was used to reconstruct soft tissue defects of the upper limb following radical tumor resection. Flap survival was 100% with nominal donor site morbidity.
We undertook a retrospective study investigating the accuracy and safety of percutaneous pedicle screws placed under fluoroscopic guidance in the lumbosacral junction and lumbar spine. The CT scans of patients were chosen from two centres: European patients from University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf, Germany, and Asian patients from the University of Malaya, Malaysia. Screw perforations were classified into grades 0, 1, 2 and 3. A total of 880 percutaneous pedicle screws from 203 patients were analysed: 614 screws from 144 European patients and 266 screws from 59 Asian patients. The mean age of the patients was 58.8 years (16 to 91) and there were 103 men and 100 women. The total rate of perforation was 9.9% (87 screws) with 7.4% grade 1, 2.0% grade 2 and 0.5% grade 3 perforations. The rate of perforation in Europeans was 10.4% and in Asians was 8.6%, with no significant difference between the two (p = 0.42). The rate of perforation was the highest in S1 (19.4%) followed by L5 (14.9%). The accuracy and safety of percutaneous pedicle screw placement are comparable to those cited in the literature for the open method of pedicle screw placement. Greater caution must be taken during the insertion of L5 and S1 percutaneous pedicle screws owing to their more angulated pedicles, the anatomical variations in their vertebral bodies and the morphology of the spinal canal at this location.
Lacrimal gland involvement in granulomatosis with polyangiitis (GPA) commonly accompanies orbital disease, but occasionally may be the sole presentation preceding any other organ manifestation or systemic disease. Diagnosis of orbital GPA, especially in patients with lacrimal involvement as the initial presentation, can be difficult because of nonspecific clinical features and lack of diagnostic specificity on histologic and antineutrophilic cytoplasmic antibody (ANCA) testing. Orbital GPA can be associated with a high morbidity from potential visual loss or rapid progression of latent systemic disease, making early diagnosis important. The purpose of this study was to describe the clinical and imaging features of patients with lacrimal gland involvement secondary to GPA and to compare them with those of other orbital inflammatory conditions in the lacrimal gland fossa.
The purpose of this study is to evaluate the in vitro and in vivo performance of gastro-retentive matrix tablets having Metformin HCl as model drug and combination of natural polymers. A total of 16 formulations were prepared by a wet granulation method using xanthan, tamarind seed powder, tamarind kernel powder and salep as the gel-forming agents and sodium bicarbonate as a gas-forming agent. All the formulations were evaluated for compendial and non-compendial tests and in vitro study was carried out on a USP-II dissolution apparatus at a paddle speed of 50 rpm. MOX2 formulation, composed of salep and xanthan in the ratio of 4:1 with 96.9% release, was considered as the optimum formulation with more than 90% release in 12 hours and short floating lag time. In vivo study was carried out using gamma scintigraphy in New Zealand White rabbits, optimized formulation was incorporated with 10 mg of (153)Sm for labeling MOX2 formulation. The radioactive samarium oxide was used as the marker to trace transit of the tablets in the gastrointestinal tract. The in vivo data also supported retention of MOX2 formulation in the gastric region for 12 hours and were different from the control formulation without a gas and gel forming agent. It was concluded that the prepared floating gastro-retentive matrix tablets had a sustained-release effect in vitro and in vivo, gamma scintigraphy played an important role in locating the oral transit and the drug-release pattern.
Here the first case in the literature of both mesenchymal hamartoma and malignant mesenchymoma occurring in a 6-year-old male child, at different times and at different sites in the liver, and also the possible malignant transformation of a mesenchymal hamartoma is reported. The tumor developed from a lesion in the right lobe that was overlooked initially during a left lateral segmentectomy at 18 months of age for a mesenchymal hamartoma. Malignant mesenchymoma is a rare and aggressive tumor. The origin of this tumor is not well understood. There has been no direct support to the hypothesis that malignant mesenchymoma may be the malignant counterpart of mesenchymal hamartoma. The authors provide clinical and histopathologic evidence in our case that suggests the possibility of malignant mesenchymoma arising from a mesenchymal hamartoma. This case emphasizes the need for complete removal of mesenchymal hamartoma and the need for long-term follow-up to detect multifocal lesion or malignant transformation.
In a cross-sectional study of 21 children with Systemic Lupus Erythematosus, 15 (71%) were found to have neuropsychiatric manifestations. The most common finding was generalised seizures (42.8%) followed by encephalopathy (19%) and hallucinations (19%). One child (4.76%) had hemichorea. In 3 children neurological manifestations were the first symptom of SLE. Computerised Axial Tomograms (CAT scans) showed cerebral atrophy in 7 of 12 scans available for review. Ten children had abnormal EEGs. Although none of the children had clinical evidence of a peripheral neuropathy, 8 had neurophysiological evidence of a neuropathy. One child died of intracranial haemorrhage. Six children had residual neuropsychiatric sequalae.