Development of vocal fold paralysis in the presence of thyroid disease is strongly indicative of thyroid cancer, and requires surgical exploration. At the same time, vocal fold paralysis does not relieve the surgeon of his obligation to identify and preserve the recurrent laryngeal nerves, since the cause of the paralysis may be a benign disease, with a fair chance of functional recovery after surgery. We hereby report a case of recurrent laryngeal nerve palsy secondary to a multinodular goitre.

Congenital laryngeal anomalies are rare. They usually present in infancy and early childhood. We present a case of severe congenital hypoplasia, with multiple anomalies of the laryngeal cartilages in a 45-year-old man.

A case is described in which a middle-aged male presented with a large tracheocele in the neck arising from the right postero-lateral aspect of trachea at the level of T2 vertebra. It was not associated with any predisposing factors and except for the swelling in the neck the patient was asymptomatic. It was excised completely through the cervical approach and there has been no recurrence in two years follow-up.

Tracheo-bronchial foreign bodies can be very difficult to remove. This may be related to the location and type of foreign body, the experience of the bronchoscopist and the availability of appropriate instruments.

We report a case of an uncommon foreign body in an unusual location in an adolescent in whom conventional attempts to remove it failed. The foreign body was eventually recovered using a flexible bronchoscope and an intravascular wire loop snare under fluoroscopic control. The patient was saved from thoracotomy and possible lobectomy.

To our knowledge, this combined fluoroscopic and endoscopic approach for the removal of a difficult tracheobronchial foreign body is the first reported case in the literature.

True vocal fold paralysis and goitre are both common problems encountered in ENT practice. Their co-existence, however, should arouse suspicion of the presence of malignant thyroid disease. A rare case of true vocal fold paralysis caused by a clinically occult subglottic adenoid cystic carcinoma, in a 72-year-old, is described. The existence of multinodular goitre in this patient was co-incidental and confounded the diagnostic process.

We report a case of bilateral abductor vocal fold paralysis due to myasthenia gravis in a 61-year-old man who presented with stridor requiring tracheostomy. The stridor had been preceded by several weeks' history of diplopia.

Lipomas of the parapharyngeal space provide both a diagnostic and therapeutic challenge. They are extremely rare with only a few cases having been reported. We present the case of a right parapharyngeal space lipoma in a 69-year-old man that was excised via a transcervical approach.

Extrapulmonary involvement of organs with the protozoan Pneumocystis carinii is rare. We describe a case of Pneumocystis carinii presenting as an erosive aural mass in a young male patient with acquired immunodeficiency syndrome. As far as the authors are aware such an example has never been described in a British journal and is the first case worldwide where otic pneumocystosis has extended into the middle cranial fossa. We also present a review of the literature on otological manifestations of Pneumocystis carinii.

Thyroid goitre presentation in the neck with extension inferiorly to the mediastinum is well-known. Extension superiorly into the retropharyngeal space is very rare and may be accompanied by change in voice and/or airway compromise.

A case is described of a patient with change in voice and mild airway compromise secondary to a goitre presenting in the oropharynx. Computed tomography (CT) and physical findings are discussed with the need to recognize this rare entity.

Cervical necrotizing fasciitis (CNF) is a rapidly progressive, severe bacterial infection of the fascial planes of the head and neck. Group A beta haemolytic Streptococcus spp. (GABHS), Staphylococcus spp., or obligatory anaerobic bacteria are the most common causative pathogens. The disease usually results from a dental source or facial trauma. Extensive fascial necrosis and severe systemic toxicity are common manifestations of CNF. Review of the literature reveals only seven such cases, with four successful outcomes.

The authors present the case of a 50-year-old immunocompetent female with CNF arising from a peritonsillar abscess. Intravenous immunoglobulins in conjunction with surgery and antibotics were used successfully.

The authors also suggest the importance of the early diagnosis, aggressive surgical debridement, broadspectrum antibiotics, and possible usefulness of the intravenous immunoglobulins in the treatment of CNF, especially when the disease is associated with toxic shock syndrome.

Three cases of pituitary adenomas with infra-sellar extension into the nasopharynx and the nasal cavities are reported. The clinical signs were epistaxis, nasal obstruction, painful sinuses and purulent rhinorrhoea. The initial diagnostic hypothesis was that of a carcinoma of the nasopharynx or the sinuses in all three cases. The diagnosis was made by histological examination and measurement of plasma hormone levels. These cases highlight the difficulty in the diagnosis of such tumours due to their misleading clinical, radiological and histological features.

We describe a patient with trigeminal neunnoma whose main presenting symptom was trismus. This has not previously been reported in the literature. We review the previously described symptoms and signs of trigeminal neurinoma.

Angiocentric T-cell lymphoma, which in the past has been grouped with a variety of granulomatous diseases, occur uncommonly as a destructive condition of the posterior nasal space and midface. We report on a patient with a chronic granular ulcerative lesion involving the posterior tongue, hypopharynx and supraglottis.

Forestier's disease (diffuse idiopathic skeletal hyperostosis) is characterized by extensive spinal osteophyte formation and endo-chondral ossification of paravertebral ligaments and muscles. Dysphagia in the setting of Forestier's disease is a rare and hence often unrecognized entity. The dysphagia is due to mechanical obstruction in the initial stages and later by due to inflammation and fibrosis. Most of these patients are treated conservatively in the initial stages and later by excision of osteophytes through a lateral cervical approach. We present a case of dysphagia due to cervical osteophytes in the setting of Forestier's disease causing narrowing of the pharynx. The patient was treated surgically via a peroral-transpharyngeal route with excellent results.

The stylohyoid ligament extends from the styloid process to the hyoid bone. For an unknown reason it occasionally ossifies and forms a solid structure which can break because of trauma or even spontaneously. Symptoms of the fracture may mimic tumours, foreign bodies, infections or neuralgia. In our cases a spontaneous fracture of totally ossified stylohyoid ligaments presented as a painful neck swelling. The diagnosis was achieved by an ortopantomographic radiograph. In both cases the healing was spontaneous and complete.

Early symptoms of nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) can often be deceptive and confusing. Most patients with nasopharyngeal carcinoma present at an advanced stage with metastatic cervical nodes present at the time of diagnosis. A deep neck abscess as the presenting feature has not been reported. We report two cases of nasopharyngeal carcinoma which presented with retropharyngeal abscesses and persistent lymphadenopathy. These two patients illustrate that refractory lymphadenopathy, despite adequate treatment of the associated infection, should prompt a search for underlying disease. The relationship between nasopharyngeal carcinoma and retropharyngeal abscess is discussed.

Free jejunum has been commonly tubed to provide a reconstructive pharyngeal conduit following pharyngolaryngectomy. It is also common practice to repair small oral and oro-pharyngeal defects with skinlined flaps i.e. radial free forearm or pectoralis major myocutaneous flap.

Free jejunal patch flaps can provide cover for large defects, secrete mucus, tolerate radiotherapy well and do not contract. The operation is associated with a low morbidity and early return of swallowing is feasible. Here we describe the functional results of free jejunal patch flap reconstruction of extensive oral and oro-pharyngeal defects.

The development of a neurofibroma in the temporal and parotid regions of the facial nerve is rare. We report a case occurring in a 32-year-old male, where the initial presentation was a parotid mass. Cytologically this was initially thought to be a pleomorphic adenoma. However, the diagnosis was then changed to a schwannoma and finally a neurofibroma after complete excision of the lesion. The case illustrates how fine needle aspiration cytology under ultrasound guidance, and even histological examination of an incision biopsy can sometimes fail to give the correct diagnosis. In this case magnetic resonance imaging was used to help plan definitive surgery.

Patients with chronic obstructive airways disease (COAD) or asthma who have a tracheostomy tube or tracheal stoma have difficulty using metered dose inhalers (MDIs) because of a failure to achieve a good seal between the tracheostomy tube or stoma and the MDI or spacer device mouthpiece. Many such patients therefore utilize nebulizers. MDIs in comparison to nebulizers have the advantages of being more compact, portable, easy to use, less time-consuming, and cheaper. We present the case of a 74-year-old man who underwent a laryngectomy with tracheal stoma formation who had a poor response with nebulizers and required oral steroids. He was subsequently, with the help of a number of attached devices, able to use his MDIs to good effect. We describe a number of devices and adaptors to enable patients with laryngectomy stomas or tracheostomy tubes to utilize MDIs and undergo respiratory function tests. We recommend that all such patients should have the benefit of a consultation with a dedicated respiratory nurse who can provide the appropriate MDIs, devices and adaptors to optimize the treatment of their lower respiratory tract condition.

We report a case of primary tuberculosis of the posterior oropharyngeal wall presenting with sore throat, fever and malaise. Pharyngeal tuberculosis is rare and usually occurs with primary pulmonary disease. Primary disease has been reported in small numbers in the nasopharynx and palatine tonsil but never before, to our knowledge, in the posterior oropharyngeal wall.