An extensive lateral sinus thrombosis secondary to silent otitis media, in a patient with a nephrotic syndrome, is presented. The thrombotic process progressed asymptomatically until the occlusion of the superior vena cava. Removal of the intractable pathology within the mastoid and administration of appropriate antibiotic therapy, prevented the further propagation of the life-threatening condition.

Primary nasal tuberculosis is rare. We report a case of primary nasal tuberculosis in an elderly lady who presented with symptoms and signs suggestive of a nasal fossa tumour. Histological examination of the lesion revealed the diagnosis. Treatment was with standard anti-tuberculous chemotherapy. The implications of primary nasal tuberculosis are discussed.

Three rare cases of congenital anomalies (mid-line nasal proboscis, subintegumental mid-line cleft lip and congenital palatoglossal synechia) are presented with their management. The embryological considerations of these cases are discussed.

Although exostoses of the external auditory canal are not uncommon, those of the internal canal are extremely rare. One of these is described occurring in a 53-year-old man whose rapidly progressive hearing loss was without any associated abnormality.

Osteomas are common benign tumours of the paranasal sinuses, but are usually asymptomatic and found as a coincidental finding during routine radiological investigations. We present a case report of a patient with an isolated osteoma of the middle turbinate presenting with unilateral nasal obstruction which required removal via a lateral rhinotomy approach. The aetiology, pathology and presenting features of these tumours are reviewed and their subsequent management discussed. In particular, adequate pre-operative radiological assessment to determine involvement of the cribriform plate region by computerized axial tomography (CAT Scanning) is emphasized since this may indicate the need for a cranio-facial surgical approach rather than a lateral rhinotomy to achieve complete removal.

A technique for endoscopic fine needle aspiration cytology (FNAC) of the larynx is presented and its use in a preliminary study of twelve patients is discussed.

Oedema, hypertrophy, polyposis, atrophy or empyema of the maxillary sinus are common features of rhinoscleroma. However, actual involvement of the antrum by the nasal granuloma is rare and primary scleroma of the antrum is of extreme rarity. Three cases of antroscleroma are presented, one secondary to an extensive rhinoscleroma and two primary. The difference in the physical, biological and microbiological environment in the antrum from that in the nose might explain the rarity of antroscleroma.

Atypical histiocytic granuloma in the oral mucosa has recently been described as a benign non-neoplastic ulcero-proliferative lesion of histiocytic origin with eosinophilia. The disease is confined to the oral mucosa where the lesion is solitary. These lesions, which heal spontaneously, are not associated with systemic disease or dissemination.

This report deals with such a case, and it stresses the benign nature of the lesion despite the worrying clinical and microscopic appearance.

The morphological diagnosis was substantiated by the use of a series of immunohistochemical reactions.

The relative efficacy of Cocaine and Lignocaine as local anaesthetic agents in the nose were compared. Twenty-five patients undergoing bilateral intra-nasal antroscopy under local anaesthetic were used as their own controls when one nasal cavity was anaesthetised with Cocaine and the other with Lignocaine. On 56 per cent of occasions the patients experienced no difference in the level of discomfort. However, on 36 per cent of occasions Cocaine was noted to give better subjective anaesthesia as compared with 8 per cent of occasions when Lignocaine was superior.

The natural course of basal cell carcinoma of the middle ear is described. This tumour is extremely rarely found in the middle ear and only two cases have been reported to date. The appearance of the tumour was heralded by earache and deafness, followed years later by wide local destruction of the temporal and parietal bones, base of skull, facial palsy and multiple distant metastases.

The patient refused both surgical and irradiation therapy and died 10 years after the initial diagnosis.