Adenoid cystic carcinoma usually occurs in the salivary glands of the head and neck. It is a malignant tumor with a high degree of malignancy, resistance to radiotherapy and chemotherapy and poor prognosis. The clinical course of adenoid cystic carcinoma is slow and easy to be misdiagnosed. The main diagnosis and treatment means are individualized and precise treatment under the multi-disciplinary consultation mode, that is, surgical treatment and radiotherapy and chemotherapy. Adenoid cystic carcinoma is prone to relapse and hematologic metastasis, and the traditional radiotherapy and chemotherapy based therapies have not achieved satisfactory efficacy in the past three decades. How to detect, diagnose and treat early is an urgent task faced by clinicians.
Humans ; Carcinoma, Adenoid Cystic/pathology* ; Neoplasm Recurrence, Local ; Neck/pathology* ; Oropharynx/pathology* ; Diagnostic Errors

Carotid Artery, Internal/diagnostic imaging* ; Humans ; Oropharynx

Child ; Family ; Humans ; Neuroectodermal Tumors, Primitive/pathology* ; Neuroectodermal Tumors, Primitive, Peripheral/pathology* ; Oropharynx

We report the first case demonstrating an association between Kawasaki disease (KD) and erythema nodosum (EN). A 3-year-old girl presented with EN as an initial manifestation of KD. At the initial visit, she showed high fever of 40℃, injection of the oropharynx, cervical lymphadenopathy, and red-purple cutaneous nodules, particularly on the lower limbs. She complained of severe pain in the neck and cutaneous lesions. Initially, the development of EN was attributed to Salmonella spp infection, which was detected in stool culture. However, the patient did not respond to high-dose ampicillin/sulbactam to which the Salmonella spp is sensitive. Echocardiography performed as screening for fever of unknown origin revealed medium-sized aneurysms of the left anterior descending artery. EN masked the diagnosis of KD, and the patient developed a coronary artery lesion. KD should be considered in the differential diagnosis of refractory EN in pediatric patients.
Aneurysm ; Arteries ; Bacterial Infections ; Child, Preschool ; Coronary Vessels ; Diagnosis ; Diagnosis, Differential ; Echocardiography ; Erythema Nodosum ; Erythema ; Exanthema ; Female ; Fever ; Fever of Unknown Origin ; Humans ; Lower Extremity ; Lymphatic Diseases ; Masks ; Mass Screening ; Mucocutaneous Lymph Node Syndrome ; Neck ; Oropharynx ; Salmonella ; Skin ; Subcutaneous Tissue

BACKGROUND: Most patients with head and neck cancer successfully undergo oncologic resection followed by free or local flap reconstruction, depending on the tumor’s size and location. Despite effective curative resection and reconstruction, head and neck cancer patients still face a high risk of recurrence and the possibility of a second primary cancer. Moreover, surgeons hesitate to perform sequential reconstruction following curative resection for several reasons. Few large-scale studies on this subject are available. Therefore, we retrospectively evaluated the outcome of sequential head and neck reconstruction to determine the possible risks. METHODS: In total, 467 patients underwent head and neck reconstruction following cancer resection at our center from 2008 to 2017. Of these cases, we retrospectively reviewed the demographic and clinical features of 58 who had sequential head and neck reconstruction following resection of recurrent cancer. RESULTS: Our study included 43 males (74.1%) and 15 females (25.9%). The mean age at the initial operation was 55.4±15.3 years, while the mean age at the most recent operation was 59.0±14.3 years. The interval between the first and second operations was 49.2±62.4 months. Twelve patients (20.7%) underwent surgery on the tongue, and 12 (20.7%) had procedures on the oropharynx. Thirty-four patients (58.6%) received a sequential free flap reconstruction, and 24 patients (41.4%) were treated using locoregional flaps. No cases of flap failure occurred. CONCLUSIONS: Our findings suggest that patients who need additional operations with recurrent head and neck cancer could optimally benefit from sequential curative resections and reconstructions.
Female ; Free Tissue Flaps ; Head and Neck Neoplasms ; Head ; Humans ; Male ; Microsurgery ; Neck ; Neoplasms, Second Primary ; Oropharynx ; Recurrence ; Retrospective Studies ; Surgeons ; Tongue

A patient who went through maxillectomy can have soft palate defects including oronasal fistulas and suffer from dysphagia and dysarthria due to velopharyngeal insufficiency. This defect causes the food to enter nasal cavity and creates hypernasal sound which debilitates a quality of life. An obturator can rehabilitate the substantial oral tissue defects. The maxillary obturator separates the nasopharynx from the oropharynx during speech and deglutition by closing of the defect. For edentulous obturator patient, it is difficult to obtain proper retention due to reduced peripheral sealing. Therefore, the contours of the defects must be used to maximize the retention, stability, and support. Hollow type obturator can improve physiologic function by reducing weight than the traditional obturator. This case report describes a patient with hemi-maxillectomy who recovers mastication, speech, deglutition, and appearance with a maxillary obturator using physiological border molding of the velopharyngeal area and double-processing method.
Deglutition ; Deglutition Disorders ; Dysarthria ; Fistula ; Fungi ; Humans ; Mastication ; Maxillofacial Prosthesis ; Methods ; Nasal Cavity ; Nasopharynx ; Oropharynx ; Palatal Obturators ; Palate, Soft ; Quality of Life ; Rehabilitation ; Velopharyngeal Insufficiency

Postoperative airway aspiration is not uncommon in patients with head and neck cancer. Airway aspiration has serious consequences, such as swallowing disorders, nutrition-related health problem, or reducing the quality of life due to maintenance of tracheal or nasogastric tubes. The postoperative oropharyngeal defect due to the surgery may interfere with normal swallowing reflex, or the laryngeal dysfunction caused by radiation therapy may cause severe airway aspiration, which may lead to complications such as dyspnea and pneumonia. Complete removal of the disease is also important in the treatment of head and neck cancer, but it is necessary to select a method to avoid and predict the occurrence of airway aspiration according to the treatment method. The most important factor to prevent airway aspiration after surgery is to preserve the proper volume of the oropharynx and to preserve at least one of the cricoarytenoid joint function. It is also the most effective way to reduce additional complications by seeking appropriate surgical treatment according to airway aspiration status. The purpose of this study is to review the operative methods that can induce airway aspiration and consider the prevention and treatment strategy through review of the literature.
Deglutition ; Deglutition Disorders ; Dyspnea ; Head and Neck Neoplasms ; Head ; Humans ; Joints ; Methods ; Oropharynx ; Pneumonia ; Quality of Life ; Reflex

Lipomas of the retropharyngeal space are rare, and they do not cause symptoms until they reach a large size. Although retropharyngeal lipoma is an uncommon entity, several reports have appeared about it in the literature, where the treatment has routinely been surgical excision. We present a case of huge lipoma of the retropharyngeal space. It extended from the oropharynx to the inferior portion of thyroid gland, causing symptoms of globus and dysphagia in a 74-year-old male. The patient had multiple medical problems and had been on anticoagulants, so we approached the mass via transcervical incision. After a complete surgical resection, all the symptoms of the patient improved. A large retropharyngeal lipoma could also be differentially diagnosed as a laryngopharyngeal mass presenting symptoms of globus and dysphagia.
Aged ; Anticoagulants ; Deglutition Disorders* ; Humans ; Lipoma* ; Male ; Oropharynx ; Thyroid Gland

Rhinosporidiosis is a chronic, granulomatous, mucocutaneous infection caused by Rhinosporidium seeberi . The infection is non-contagious and sporadic in humans. The site most commonly affected is the mucous membrane of the nose and nasopharynx, followed by the oropharynx, trachea, bronchi, ear, eye, and genitourinary tract. It can also spread to other areas through blood and lymph. Here, we report a case of rhinosporidiosis affecting the palate in a 60-year-old female patient.
Bronchi ; Ear ; Female ; Humans ; Middle Aged ; Mucous Membrane ; Nasopharynx ; Nose ; Oropharynx ; Palate ; Rhinosporidiosis* ; Rhinosporidium ; Trachea

OBJECTIVE: The inability to propel a bolus of food successfully from the posterior part of the oral cavity to the oropharynx is defined as transfer dysphagia. The present case series describes the varied presentation of transfer dysphagia due to focal dystonia and highlights the importance of early detection by following up on strong suspicions. METHODS: We describe seven cases of transfer dysphagia due to focal dystonia. Transfer dysphagia as a form of focal dystonia may appear as the sole presenting complaint or may present with other forms of focal dystonia. RESULTS: Four out of seven patients had pure transfer dysphagia and had previously been treated for functional dysphagia. A high index of suspicion, barium swallow including videofluoroscopy, associated dystonia in other parts of the body and response to drug therapy with trihexyphenidyl/tetrabenazine helped to confirm the diagnosis. CONCLUSION: Awareness of these clinical presentations among neurologists and non-neurologists can facilitate an early diagnosis and prevent unnecessary investigations.
Barium ; Deglutition Disorders ; Diagnosis ; Drug Therapy ; Dystonia ; Dystonic Disorders ; Early Diagnosis ; Humans ; Mouth ; Oropharynx