BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: Tuberculous otitis media is not commonly found nowadays, and therefore, the index of suspicion is often low. However, once contracted, it can cause significant morbidities, such as profound hearing loss, labyrinthitis, facial nerve palsy and so on, if early diagnosis and treatment are not performed. MATERIALS AND METHODS: In the chronic otitis media patients who visited Masan Samsung Hospital from Jan. 1993 to Jan. 1996, 37 cases of pathologically proven tuberculous otitis media were retrospectively reviewed. And temporal bone computerized tomography (TBCT) of 14 cases of tuberculous otitis media were compared to those of chronic suppurative otitis media and choronic otitis media with cholesteatoma. RESULTS: 1) Classic clinical findings of the disease such as multiple perforation, painless otorrhea, young age are not consistent with the clinical findings reviewed here. 2) Unexpectedly severe hearing loss, facial paralysis, eroded malleus handle, polypoid granulation or necrotic debris in middle ear cavity were significant clinical features. 3) In TBCT findings, soft tissue density in the entire middle ear cavity, soft tissue density extension to superior external auditory canal, poor sclerotic change of mastoid air cell were more common than other types of chronic otitis media. 4) Most of cases were confirmed by operative specimen pathologically. 5) Delayed healing of postoperative wound and formation of granulation tissue suggested tuberculous otitis media. 6) Antituberculous chemotherapy provided effective means of treatment. CONCLUSION: Early diagnosis by pathologic examination of biopsied tissue obtained at OPD was mandatory to avoid complication and postoperative morbidity. Postoperative specimen obtained from middle ear surgery must be confirmed pathologically.
Cholesteatoma ; Cytochrome P-450 CYP1A1 ; Drug Therapy ; Ear Canal ; Ear, Inner ; Ear, Middle ; Early Diagnosis ; Facial Nerve ; Facial Paralysis ; Granulation Tissue ; Hearing Loss ; Humans ; Labyrinthitis ; Malleus ; Mastoid ; Otitis Media* ; Otitis Media, Suppurative ; Otitis* ; Paralysis ; Retrospective Studies ; Temporal Bone ; Wounds and Injuries

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: Esophageal foreign bodies are very common problems in the field of pediatric otolaryngology department. Of all, coins are the most common esophageal foreign bodies encoutnered. Management of the child with an esophageal coin is as follows: rigid esophagoscopic removal under general anesthesia, flexible endoscopic removal, Foley's catheter technique with or without fluoroscopy control, and advancement using bougination. This study is to evaluate the safety and efficiency of the procedure of removing coins from the esophagus in children using Foley's catheter without fluoroscopic control. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The subjects consisted of 101 children with coin lodgement in the first esophageal constrictor area who had been managed with Foley's catheter extraction method from April 1993 through February 1999 at Masan samsung hospital, Masan, Korea. A retrospective review of charts and radiological findings was performed. RESULTS: Of the 101 children who underwent Foley's catheter extraction method, 93 cases (92.1%) were successful without serious complications; but three attempts were unsuccessful and were subsequently removed by rigid esophagoscopy under general anesthesia. CONCLUSIONS: Foley's catheter extraction method may be used for removal of esophageal coins in selected cases, even without fluoroscopic control. The technique is effective, safe and avoids the risk of general anesthesia or radiation exposure.
Anesthesia, General ; Catheters* ; Child ; Esophagoscopy ; Esophagus ; Fluoroscopy ; Foreign Bodies ; Humans ; Korea ; Numismatics ; Otolaryngology ; Retrospective Studies

BACKGROUND: Many head and neck surgeons preferred the radiotherapy as a first choice in treating early laryngeal carcinoma(T1, T2) to surgical operation because of the relatively high curability(80-90%), organ preservation and better quality of life. If radiotherapy failed, some surgeons perform total laryngectomy as salvage operation, but others prefer to perform partial laryngectomy, which is increasing in tendency. OBJECTIVE: To investigate the pattern of cancer invasion to the laryngeal cartilages using salvage laryngectomized cancer specimens which had recurred after radiotherapy. MATERIALS & METHOD: Preoperative computerized tomograpy images were retrospectively compared to postoperative salvage laryngectomized cancer specimens which had recurred after radiotherapy 13 cases from March, 1985 to February, 1994. RESULTS: 1) In laryngeal cacer recurred after radiotherapy, incidence of cartilage invasion was not in early supragolttic cancer. but all in advanced supraglottic cancer, and 3cases of 5 cases(60.0%) in early glottic cancer, 4cases of 5 cases(80.0%) in advanced glottic cancer. 2) The order of laryngeal cartilage invasion was the first thyroid cartilage(61.5%), the second arytenoid cartilage(30.7%), and the third cricoid cartilage(23.1%). 3) The diagnostic accuracy of preoperative CT scan for laryngeal cartilage invasion was 66.7% in thyroid cartilage, 55.6% in arytenoid cartilage, 55.6% in cricoid cartilage, and 100% in epiglottis. CONCLUSION: Selection of partial laryngectomy as salvage operation should be considered carefully.
Arytenoid Cartilage ; Cartilage ; Cricoid Cartilage ; Epiglottis ; Head ; Incidence ; Laryngeal Cartilages* ; Laryngectomy* ; Neck ; Organ Preservation ; Quality of Life ; Radiotherapy ; Retrospective Studies ; Thyroid Cartilage ; Thyroid Gland ; Tomography, X-Ray Computed

Wegener's granulomatosis (WG) classically consists of necrotizing granulomatous inflammation of the upper and/or lower respiratory tract, necrotizing glomerulonephritis, and an autoimmune necrotizing systemic vasculitis affecting predominantly small vessels. We report a case of WG with central nervous system (CNS) involvement. WG is being diagnosed through pulmonary nodule biopsy. A small nodular lesion in the left posterior basal ganglia of brain being highly suspicious for granulomatosis was detected by MRI. After IV pulse cyclophosphamide and oral corticosteroid treatment for over 4 months, clinical manifestations and CNS lesions in brain MRI is improved. WG might have multiple granulomatous lesions which could be misdiagnosed due to malignancy. CNS involvement in WG is rare but careful evaluation is necessary when there are suspicious symptoms or lesions in CNS.
Basal Ganglia ; Biopsy ; Brain ; Central Nervous System ; Cyclophosphamide ; Glomerulonephritis ; Inflammation ; Lung ; Lung Neoplasms ; Neoplasm Metastasis ; Respiratory System ; Systemic Vasculitis ; Wegener Granulomatosis

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: Acoustic parameters of maximal phonation time, sound intensity, fundamental frequency, voice range, jitter and shimmer were analyzed in order to evaluate voice quality and differences among esophageal speech (ES), tracheoesophageal shunt speech (TES), pneumatic aid speech (PA), electrolaryngeal speech (EL) according to phonetic rehabilitation methods in 16 cases of laryngectomees. MATERIALS AND METHODS: We acquired acoustic data on alaryngeal voice by different methods, and analysed each of those using specially designed programs (Laryngeal analyser V1.0 base on Matlab V5.0). RESULTS: Maximal phonation time was significantly longer in TES voice and PA speech than in ES voice (p<0.05). Jitter and shimmer were significantly regular and stable in the EL and PA speech than in the ES and TES voice (p<0.05). Voice range was significantly wider in TES voice and PA speech than in EL and ES voice (p<0.05). In two cases capable of bi-modal speech of ES and TES voice, maximal phonation time was longer with wider voice range in TES voice than in ES voice. Jitter and shimmer were regular and stable in ES voice than in TES voice. CONCLUSION: PA speech displays phonetically more natural laryngeal speech than other rehabilitation methods. But this methods is inconvenient and cosmetically unacceptable, because patients have to bite intraoral vibrator in the patient's mouth. So, we recommend TES voice rather than ES voice, without the use of speech-making device such as EL and PA speech.
Acoustics* ; Humans ; Laryngectomy* ; Mouth ; Phonation ; Rehabilitation* ; Speech, Esophageal ; Voice Quality ; Voice*