Thyroglossal duct cyst is the most common upper neck midline lesion in children. Approximately 1% of thyroglossal duct cyst undergoes malignant transformation. Calcification which is a marker of malignancy almost always points out to papillary thyroid carcinoma. Benign case of calcified thyroglossal cyst maybe undiagnosed or under reported. We report a case of a 5 year old girl with a benign calcified thyroglossal duct cyst, a fourth case in world literature. Here the differences between a benign and malignant thyroglossal duct cyst are discussed.

The resultant dysphonia and aspiration in unilateral vocal cord palsy can be overcome with medialisation thyroplasty. With this background, we aim to determine the aetiology of the unilateral vocal cord palsy and effectiveness of the phonosurgical procedure with Gore-Tex as a sole treatment. Methods: Within a seven year period, 37 Gore-Tex medialisation thyroplasty were performed for unilateral vocal cord palsy at our institution and medical records were retrospectively reviewed. Results: There were 18 males and 19 females with mean age of 48.7 years (range 19–81 years). The predominant aetiology was thyroidectomy (43.2%) with benign thyroid disease predominates (n=13) over thyroid malignancy (n=3). Voice outcome was evaluated subjectively using visual analogue scoring system, results indicating that Gore-Tex medialisation thyroplasty was effective in addressing dysphonia in 62.5% (n=15) patients. However it alone cannot address aspiration seen in those with high vagal nerve lesion. Airway compromise occurred in two cases postoperatively (5.4%) presenting as acute stridor. Conclusion: In unilateral vocal cord palsy, Gore-Tex medialisation thyroplasty can effectively improve the resultant dysphonia and often accompanying aspiration which would otherwise be disabling for the patients.

Tracheostomy can be associated with numerous complications. Here, we present a case of large hypertrophic skin of tracheostoma with tracheal granulation tissue causing malpositioning of tracheostomy tube and airway obstruction, secondary to prolong placement of a cuff tracheostomy tube due to improper tracheostomy care. This case illustrates that awareness and knowledge of proper tracheostomy tube care among medical personnel are very important to avoid any mismanagement that can cause life-threatening complications.
Tracheostomy

There are three types of papilloma which arises from the Schneiderian membrane namely inverted, fungiform and oncocytic. Oncocytic papilloma is the rarest type and occurs predominantly in the older age group. Clinically, its behaviour is similar to inverted papilloma in having both local recurrence and associated malignancy. We report a rare case of oncocytic papilloma arising from the maxillary sinus, extending into the nasal cavity and nasopharynx, in a 78-year-old lady. Despite the longstanding history there was no evidence of associated malignancy in this lesion. An endoscopic medial maxillectomy was successfully utilized for approach and complete tumour excision. In conclusion, oncocytic papilloma should be considered as a differential diagnosis in patients presenting with unilateral polypoid nasal lesions especially in the elderly. In addition, endoscopic medial maxillectomy can provide an adequate approach for complete tumour removal.

This was a retrospective study of operative records between 2000 – 2007 from two ear, nose and throat (ENT) referral centers in Malaysia to review demographic patterns, clinical presentations and management of retropharyngeal abscess (RPA). Our case series comprised of eight patients with five females and three males with a median age at presentation of 47 years. Comorbid factor in this series was diabetes mellitus, with four patients having diabetes. There were three cases of fish bone ingestion. The commonest presentation was dysphagia or odynophagia. None of them had fever. All patients were treated with broad spectrum intravenous antibiotics (IV) and drainage was performed for the abscess. Four patients underwent transoral drainage with three having the cervical approach and one having spontaneous rupture. All patients recovered well from the infection and only one patient passed away due to septicaemia. In conclusion, patients with retropharyngeal abscess may present with vague symptoms of sore throat, odynophagia without fever due to partial antibiotics treatment. A correct diagnosis should be made so that adequate treatment can be given to prevent mortality.

Background and Objectives: Transplantation of pancreatic islets is an intriguing new therapeutic option to face the worldwide spread problem of Type-I diabetes. Currently, its clinical use is limited by several problems, mainly based on the high number of islets required to restore normoglycaemia and by the low survival of the transplanted tissue. A promising attempt to overcome the limits to such an approach was represented by the use of Mesenchymal Stem Cells (MSC). Despite the encouraging results obtained with murine-derived MSC, little is still known about their protective mechanisms. The aim of the present study was to verify the effectiveness, (besides murine MSC), of clinically relevant human-derived MSC (hMSC) on protecting pancreatic islets, thus also shedding light on the putative differences between MSC of different origin. Methods: and Results: Threefold kinds of co-cultures were therefore in vitro set up (direct, indirect and mixed), to analyze the hMSC effect on pancreatic islet survival and function and to study the putative mechanisms involved. Although in a different way with respect to murine MSC, also human derived cells demonstrated to be effective on protecting pancreatic islet survival. This effect could be due to the release of some trophic factors, such as VEGF and Il-6, and by the reduction of inflammatory cytokine TNF-α. Conclusions Therefore, hMSC confirmed their great clinical potential to improve the feasibility of pancreatic islet transplantation therapy against diabetes.