We present a case of malignant schwannoma (MS) of the parapharyngeal space which completely encircled the internal carotid artery in close proximity to the skull base and required resection of the internal carotid artery along with the excision of the tumour. There have been three previous case reports in the literature of malignant schwannoma of the parapharyngeal space of which one case was associated with neuroflbromatosis. Our patient did not exhibit any feature of neurofibromatosis.

We report a case of an impacted foreign body in the tonsil presenting as recurrent unilateral tonsillitis. A completely embedded foreign body should be considered in cases of recurrent unilateral tonsillitis.

Oncogenic osteomalacia is an uncommon syndrome characterized by mineral metabolism abnormalities that disappear after the resection of an associated tumour. Head and neck is the second most frequent location of these tumours. We describe a case with an ethmoido-frontal phosphaturic mesenchymal tumour and review oncogenic osteomalacia-associated tumours. Among 21 cases found, 57 per cent affected the sinonasal area and 20 per cent the mandible. The diagnosis of the tumour lasted a mean of 4.7 years from the onset of osteomalacia, and most of them showed a significant vascular component. An aggressive surgical approach is recommended.

We present a case of microlaryngoscopy in a patient with an unexpectedly difficult airway. The airway was managed by using an oesophageal-tracheal Combitube (Kendall-Sheridan, Argyle, NY) (ETC)and a fibre-optic bronchoscope (Pentax-Japan-5mm).

Abscesses of the pterygopalatine fossa are extremely rare. The cases reported in the literature are all secondary to dental or periodontal disease. We present a case of an abscess in this site which was a complication of chemotherapy and was the result of haematogenous spread.

While evaluating a 61-year-old patient for stridor we incidentally detected a double epiglottis. The patient was also diagnosed of having Weyer's acrofacial dysostosis which is characterized by hexadactyly affecting all four extremities, small and deeply set nails, dental deformities with small, conical teeth and mandibular hypoplasia. The double epiglottis was not the cause for the stridor. Because of the covert symptomatology of double epiglottis it is suggested that the association with Weyer's syndrome is common. Embryological evidence and a review of the literature on laryngeal abnormalities is discussed.

This is the first reported case of a laryngocoele developing after laryngeal trauma. A 26-year-old man sustained a shotgun injury to his larynx. A large number of shotgun pellets was removed from his left vestibular fold. He subsequently developed a left-sided laryngocoele, probably due to fibrosis around the neck of the saccule.The laryngocoele was removed by an external approach.

A case of primary non-Hodgkin's lymphoma of the larynx in an AIDS patient is presented with a review of the literature. Non-Hodgkin's lymphomas in AIDS patients are common but the primary laryngeal presentation is very rare. The symptoms usually include dysphonia and progressive airway obstruction requiring tracheostomy. As with laryngeal non-Hodgkin's laryngeal lymphomas in non-HIV positive patients the majority are of B cell lineage and respond well to radiotherapy. Our patient had a high grade lymphoma of B cell lineage which showed a good response to radiotherapy. The role of chemotherapy and surgery is not yet established. We suggest that the diagnosis of AIDS should not influence the management of these patients unless the individual is in the terminal disease stage.

This paper reports an unusual case of B-cell non-Hodgkin's lymphoma presenting with extensive cutaneous involvement of the head and neck region.

Laryngeal rhabdomyosarcoma is a rare disease. Only nine of these tumours have been adequately described in world literature in the adult population. Adult patients with laryngeal rhabdomyosarcoma often present at a later stage than other laryngeal tumours, including squamous cell carcinoma. Diagnosis is made by identification of cross-striations histochemically or cytoplasmic myoglobin by immunohistological methods. We present a 66-year-old woman with pleomorphic rhabdomyosarcoma of her larynx. This is the first female in the adult age group to be presented. Surgical treatment with adjuvant radiotherapy is currently the treatment of choice for this disease. We provide a review of the literature on laryngeal rhabdomyosarcoma, including presentation, pathology and management of this rare disease.

Ectopic thyroid is an uncommon embryological aberrationcharacterized by the presence of thyroid tissue at a site other than in its usual pretracheal region. Usually it occurs along the path of descent of the developing thyroid primodium from the foramen caecum, commonest being lingual followed by sublingual and in the anterior midline of neck at, or below, the level of the hyoid bone. It is unusual for lingual thyroid to present simultaneously with another ectopic thyroid; reported here are two such cases.

We describe a case of lingual thyroid (LT) with primary hypothyroidism, presenting during pregnancy and continuing beyond it with oropharyngeal obstructive symptoms and sleep apnoea syndrome (SAS) of mixed type. Although SAS of a combined obstructive and central type should not be too surprising in a case of LT with hypothyroidism, we were unable to find such a documentation previously. Only four weeks of L-thyroxin treatment resulted in a dramatic improvement in dysphagia, disturbed phonation, haemoptysis, arterial desaturation, sleep apnoea and overall sleep efficiency, in conjunction with a regression in the size of the lingual mass. This case highlights the vagaries confronted in the management of such a case and focuses on efforts towards accurate diagnosis and treatment.

The presence of heterotopic gastric mucosa in the upper oesophagus has been reported to occur in up to 10 percent of individuals but it is usually asymptomatic. We present two pateints with symptomatic oesophageal heterotopic gastric mucosa and discuss the aetiology, pathogenesis, and management of the condition.

We report two patients with Hodgkin's disease on chemotherapy, one with vincristine, the other with vinblastine, who were referred to the ENT department with a vocal fold palsy. These drugs are commonly used in the treatment of haematological malignancies, and head and neck sarcomas. Examination showed a unilateral immobile fold. No causative local pathology was identified, and they were otherwise thought to be achieving remission, but the development of a fold palsy suggested a poor response to treatment. One patient's palsy resolved following completion of chemotherapy, but the other patient's persists, despite an otherwise good response to the treatment. The vinca alkaloids are neurotoxic, usually causing a peripheralneuropathy, but cranial mononeuropathies are a rare side-effect. A total of 27 previous cases of vocal fold palsy have been reported with the use of the vinca alkaloids, and such a lesion should not be assumed to be due to advancing lymphoma.

We present the case of a 51-year-old lady who developed a CSF leak following a Cloward's procedure (anterior cervical surgery with fusion), which settled with conservative management. Two months following the surgery she was assessed by an otolaryngologist for persistent dysphagia and a swelling in the anterior triangle of her neck. A computed tomography (CT) scan identified a fluid-filled mass displacing the trachea and communicating with the anterior cervical vertebrae, thus confirming th e persistence of a CSF leak.

The incidence of notification of tuberculosis is increasing in the developed world. The disease has a variable mode of presentation and therefore diagnosis is not easy. We present an unusual case of tuberculosis involving the ramus of the mandible in a six-year-old boy and outline its management.

A case is presented of a patient with bilateral retinoblastoma, treated at infancy with surgery, chemotherapy and radiotherapy, who subsequently developed at least four additional histologically distinct malignancies: a Ewing sarcoma of the left fibula, two extraskeletal osteosarcomas of the left lower extremity, a mucoepidermoid carcinoma of the right parotid gland and a squamous cell carcinoma of the left paranasal cavity.

In addition to retinoblastoma, patients with a germline RB-1 mutation are at high risk of second primary malignancies. An additive carcinogenic effect of cytotoxic therapy in these patients has been assumed. Patients with hereditary retinoblastoma should be under life-long follow-up programmes including a regular head and neck examination for detection of new primaries, especially in the radiation field of the presenting retinoblastoma.

Two cases of cervical necrotizing fasciitis are presented. Both are unusual in that they had had radiotherapy for head and neck malignancy six and 14 years previously with no evidence of tumour recurrence. One case of necrotizing fasciitis has previously been cited in the literature associated with radiotherapy (Krespi et al., 1981). The two cases are discussed along with a review of the literature.

Intralaryngotracheal thyroid is a rare clinical condition with only about 125 cases described so far in the literature. We present an unusual case of intralaryngotracheal thyroid which had many clinical features of malignancy and yet appeared benign on histology. As in this case, well-differentiated thyroid cancer can present with locally aggressive clinical features and can pose a dilemma in management if treatment decisions are guided solely by histological features.

An otolaryngologist is conversant with the potential of middle-ear disease leading to lateral sinus thrombosis and subsequent jugular vein thrombosis, although this is becoming an increasingly rare event. Spontaneous jugular vein thrombosis from non-otological causes, however, is not well described in the otolaryngology literature. We present three cases of jugular vein thrombosis who presented primarily to the Otolaryngology department each attributable to a different pathology including discoid lupus erythematosus, antiphospholipid syndrome and metastatic malignancy. Awareness needs to be increased of this condition in the differential diagnosis of acute neck swelling and neck pain.