Endoscopic removal of a huge keratocystic odontogenic tumor in maxillary sinus.

Keratocystic odontogenic tumor is derived from the proliferation of residues of the dental lamina. Keratocystic odontogenic tumors have high recurrence rate from 0% to 62%, depending on the locations and types of treatment. The controversy still exists about treatment methods ranging from simple curettage to highly invasive en bloc resection. Furthermore, there is no consensus on the most effective surgical technique. We report the first case of removal via endonasal endoscopic approach for a huge, expansile keratocystic odontogenic tumor in the maxillary sinus extending to contralateral central incisor.

Histopathologic Evaluations of the Lingual Artery in Healthy Tongue of Adult Cadaver.

OBJECTIVES: To clarify the anatomical distribution of the lingual artery in normal adult subjects through histopathologic evaluations. METHODS: Eighteen healthy cadaveric tongues were used to produce 8 paraffin-embedded tissue sections each. Length from midline raphe, depth from dorsum of tongue and the whole transverse length tongue were measured. The lateral distance, depth, and proportion of lateral distance of deep lingual artery were determined from tip to base of tongue gradually. Lateral distance is length from median raphe to the center of deep lingual artery lumen. Depth is vertical distance from dorsal surface of tongue to the center of deep lingual artery. Proportion of lateral distance is obtained by dividing lateral distance with transverse length from median raphe to lateral border of tongue. The degree of symmetry between right and left sides and the difference between selected spots were evaluated. RESULTS: Right and left sides of the lingual artery were symmetric. The lingual artery was lateralized as it run posterior. The lingual artery runs gradually deeper from the surface as it goes near the base of tongue. Both length and depth of the lingual artery gradually increased between 0%-75% of the mobile tongue, but 75%-100% zone of the lingual artery showed no significant difference. There was no anastomosis between right and left side of the lingual arteries. The lingual artery was located within 50% of the transverse length of tongue from median raphe. CONCLUSION: The present study reveals 3-dimensional information on the anatomical distributions of the lingual artery in normal adult subjects. These findings gives us beneficial information about the handling of the lingual artery during oral and base of tongue-related surgery.

A case of carotid body tumor concomitant with carcinoid tumor.

Neuroendocrine tumors typically fall into two broad categories: those of epithelial origin and those of neural derivation. The former group includes carcinoid tumors and the latter includes paraganglioma. Although paraganglioma and carcinoid tumor have different biologic behaviors, their overlapping histological appearance can pose diagnostic challenges. Carcinoid tumors are rare, slow-growing neuroendocrine tumors arising from the enterochromaffin cells disseminated throughout the gastrointestinal and bronchopulmonary systems. Carotid body tumor is the most common type of extra-adrenal paraganglioma. Paraganglioma tends to grow slowly but can compress adjacent vessel and nerve. A 63-year-old woman showed huge mass extending from carotid body to skull base, encircling internal and external carotid arteries on magnetic resonance image. Surgical removal of carotid body tumor was done after embolization procedure. Postoperative histopathologic examination and immunohistochemical analysis were consistent with paraganglioma concomitant with carcinoid tumor in carotid body. Primary cervical carcinoid tumor is extremely rare, and to the best of our knowledge, this is the first case of concomitant existence of paraganglioma and carcinoid tumor in carotid body.

The efficacy of TachoComb on reducing postoperative complications after tonsillectomy in children.

OBJECTIVE: A fibrinogen/thrombin-based collagen fleece (TachoComb) is a powerful topical hemostatic agent that has been widely used in various surgical specialties with a favorable outcome. The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of TachoComb application on postoperative complications after tonsillectomy. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A total of 1633 children had undergone tonsillectomy with or without adenoidectomy were included in this study. After removal of both tonsils, 1057 patients (64.7%) were treated with TachoComb on the tonsillectomy site and 576 without TachoComb. Post-tonsillectomy pain, hemorrhage rates, re-admission rates, and emergency surgery rates for post-tonsillectomy hemorrhage were evaluated between patients who received TachoComb and those who did not. RESULTS: TachoComb treatment significantly reduced post-tonsillectomy pain and emergency surgery rates for post-tonsillectomy hemorrhage. However, postoperative hemorrhage rate and re-admission rates for post-tonsillectomy hemorrhage were not statistically significant between TachoComb treatment group and control group. No patients had complications or adverse reactions after TachoComb treatment. CONCLUSIONS: The use of TachoComb after tonsillectomy significantly reduces pain and emergency surgery for severe post-tonsillectomy hemorrhage without an apparent adverse effect. Therefore, TachoComb may be a useful adjuvant in terms of efficacy and safety after tonsillectomy.