Permanent blindness, is a very rare, but devastating complication of simultaneous bilateral neck dissection. Most otolaryngologists/head and neck surgeons are unaware that amaurosis can result from this surgery, and this paper is meant as a poignant reminder of that end. A case report is presented, followed by a discussion of possible aetiology; a management protocol is proposed.

A rare case of an adult with a large retropharyngeal cold abscess completely obstructing the airway and causing acute respiratory distress is presented. An urgent tracheostomy to safeguard the airway was required. The clinical features, surgical anatomy, aetiopathogenesis and management of a retropharyngeal abscess are discussed.

A granular cell tumour may present as clinically innocuous lesions on the vocal cords and the diagnosis is usually made by histopathology. However, the granular cells characteristic of this tumour may not be obvious and accompanying epithelial hyperplasia may be interpreted by the pathologist as invasive squamous cell carcinoma. Good communication between pathologist and surgeon is required to ensure that clinically benign lesions on the vocal cords are not misdiagnosed. The diagnosis of granular cell tumour can be confirmed by immunocytochemical staining for S100 antigen.