Ear,Nose & Throat Journal

This report describes the first use of a novel workflow for in-house computer-aided design (CAD) for application in a resource-limited surgical outreach setting. Preoperative computed tomography imaging obtained locally in Haiti was used to produce rapid-prototyped 3-dimensional (3D) mandibular models for 2 patients with large ameloblastomas. Models were used for patient consent, surgical education, and surgical planning. Computer-aided design and 3D models have the potential to significantly aid the process of complex surgery in the outreach setting by aiding in surgical consent and education, in addition to expected surgical applications of improved anatomic reconstruction.

The treatment of subglottic stenosis remains a challenge due to anatomic and technological limitations, and there is no consensus regarding treatment. Restenosis and granulation formation are the most common complications. Balloon dilatation combined with cryotherapy and adjuvant topical medication is one treatment method. However, the efficacy of adjuvant topical medication is controversial, and the lack of efficacy may be related to the effective dose of the drug delivered to the submucosal layer of the lesion. Therefore, a tool with high efficiency for delivering medications to the submucosal layer via injection may play an important role in treatment. A hybrid knife (HK) with a pressure water jet traditionally used in endoscopy submucosal dissection to inject saline into the submucosa was employed here to inject medications for subglottic stenosis, followed by electrical excision. Here, we report the case of a man with complex subglottic stenosis who underwent balloon dilatation combined with cryotherapy and an adjuvant submucosal triamcinolone injection performed with an HK. The drug was delivered more efficiently into the submucosal layer, and the lumen of the trachea was patent. Performing a submucosal injection with an HK may be a new approach to deliver medications to the submucosal layer for the treatment of tracheal stenosis.

Combined small-cell carcinoma and squamous cell carcinoma of the larynx is an exquisitely rare and underreported primary tumor the head and neck region, with an English literature review revealing only 17 documented cases. There is limited information on how best to treat these patients oncologically, given the low number of reported cases. A subset of the reported cases also detail a unique local spread of this combined carcinoma, further obscuring the clinical picture of these patients. Here, we detail an 18th case, with nodal metastasis of only one component of the primary tumor, and discuss the published literature surrounding this etiology.

Arytenoid dislocation and subluxations commonly are reduced surgically using Holinger and straight Miller-3 laryngoscopes. We present a case of arytenoid cartilage subluxation returned to good position using a 28-Jackson dilator. A 66-year-old man was diagnosed previously with right vocal fold paresis and left vocal fold paralysis following a motor vehicle accident that required a 14-day intubation and tracheotomy maintained for 3 weeks. Evaluation by strobovideolaryngoscopy 3 months following the accident showed severe left vocal fold hypomotility and arytenoid height disparity; laryngeal electromyography showed only mild-to-moderate decreased recruitment in laryngeal muscles. No abnormalities were appreciated on neck computed tomography. Upon palpation of both arytenoid cartilages in the operating room, the left joint was found to be subluxed anteriorly and immobile. A 28-Jackson dilator was used to mobilize and reduce the left arytenoid cartilage, and steroid was injected into the cricothyroid joint. Increased mobility was obtained in the operating room and the patient reported significant improvement in his voice. Six months later, we saw improvement in arytenoid height disparity and left vocal fold movement, better glottic closure, and voice handicap index was improved. A 28-Jackson dilator can be used to manipulate the cricoarytenoid joint without trauma to the vocal process.

Pulsatile tinnitus constitutes up to 10% of all tinnitus cases. Cerebral venous stenosis is a known etiology of pulsatile tinnitus. Treatment of pulsatile tinnitus secondary to venous stenosis with venous stenting has been reported in the literature but is not performed routinely. We would like to report a case of chronic pulsatile tinnitus treated with venous stent in a patient who previously underwent jugular vein ligation.

This report presents 2 unusual cases along with a review of the current literature. Further, it aims to propose an algorithm for the initial surgical management of migrating ingested foreign bodies, focusing on the use of fluoroscopy, rigid laryngopharyngoscopy, and an external surgical approach. A 42-year-old man presented with progressive odynophagia after swallowing a fish bone 20 days previously, and a 60-year-old woman presented with a painful enlarging mass over the left lower neck for 1 month. The first case involved a horizontally oriented pharyngeal fish bone with a portion in the neck, which was removed under fluoroscopic guidance and rigid laryngopharyngoscopy in succession. In the second case, there was an extraluminal fish bone that had migrated into the sternocleidomastoid muscle, which was retrieved through cervical incision. All foreign bodies were removed without complications. To the best of our knowledge, this is the second report of fluoroscopy-guided ingested foreign body retrieval and the first one with a proposed algorithm for the management of migrating ingested foreign body in the neck. The location and orientation of migrating ingested foreign bodies as well as their relation to structures in the neck are important factors in determining the surgical approach.

Extramedullary plasmacytomas represent a rare group of B-cell malignancies that arise outside the bone marrow and their disease process is still poorly understood. Here, we will describe a case of a 76-year-old patient who presented with a large chest wall and subglottic mass causing airway compromise and stridor. Biopsies showed atypical plasma cells with prominent nucleoli which were in keeping with an extramedullary plasmacytoma. Disease progressed despite surgical debulking, targeted radiotherapy, and multiple chemotherapy regimens. Although response to treatment is classically good, patients occasionally present with aggressive disease.

A lordotic curve of the cervical spine in the aged is a physiological curvature of the cervical spine. The swallowing disorder precipitated by lordosis of the cervical spine in the aged, the swallowing function and intervention were reported on. An 86-year-old woman complained of swallowing difficulty for a few months. A lordotic curve (physiological curvature) of the cervical spine was observed. In the neutral neck position, the cervical lordotic angle was 29° using the Cobb C2-C7 method. When the lordotic curve of the cervical spine was intentionally straightened, the lordotic angle became 0°, the laryngeal elevation changed from 0.5 times the height of a cervical vertebra to 1.75 times, the laryngeal elevation delay time changed from 0.5 seconds to 0.23, the percent laryngeal elevation changed from 50% to 72% and pharyngeal transit time changed from 0.83 seconds to 0.75. Lordosis of the cervical spine inhibited laryngeal elevation and influenced the swallowing function. In cases in which lordotic curvature of the cervical spine adversely influences the swallowing function in the aged, rehabilitation to manage the lordosis of the cervical spine is useful. For the purpose of effective intervention, not only diagnostic but also therapeutic videofluorographic examination of swallowing is very important.