Burkitt's lymphoma of the base of the tongue: a case report and review of the literature.

Burkitt's lymphoma is a highly aggressive, mature B cell non-Hodgkin's lymphoma that is rare outside Africa. We report a case of Burkitt's lymphoma presenting as a rapidly expanding tongue-base mass that caused airway obstruction in an 80-year-old Palestinian man living in California. According to our review of the literature, this is only the third reported case of Burkitt's lymphoma arising in the base of the tongue. We also discuss the incidence, epidemiology, genetics, prognosis, and treatment of this malignancy. Because Burkitt's lymphoma is one of the fastest-growing tumors in humans, rapid diagnosis and treatment are important. Treatment involves brief-duration, high-intensity chemotherapy and central nervous system prophylaxis. It is important for the otolaryngologist to recognize this disease and to understand the steps necessary to treat this aggressive tumor.

Visual risks of facial fracture repair in the setting of traumatic optic neuropathy.

OBJECTIVE: To identify whether facial fracture repair in patients with traumatic optic neuropathy results in visual deterioration. DESIGN: A retrospective analysis was performed of all patients admitted from 1992 through 1997 with the diagnosis of facial fracture and traumatic optic neuropathy. Vision was recorded before and after fracture repair using logarithm of the minimum angle of resolution measurements. Visual outcome was compared with a nonsurgically treated group of patients with a similar diagnosis. SETTING: University trauma hospital. PATIENTS: A total of 700 medical charts were reviewed, and 54 patients met study criteria. All patients received megadose corticosteroid treatment and were divided into 3 groups: (1) facial fracture repair alone, (2) optic nerve decompression (OND) + facial fracture repair, or (3) nonsurgical treatment. RESULTS: For the 16 patients in the fracture repair alone group, 12 (75%) had improved vision and 4 (25%) had no change postoperatively. For the 10 patients in the OND + fracture repair group, 3 (30%) had improved vision, 5 (50%) had no change, and 2 (20%) had worsened vision postoperatively. For the 28 patients in the nonsurgical group, 18 (64%) had improved vision, 9 (32%) had no change, and 1 (4%) had worsened vision by discharge. Facial fracture repair alone and the nonsurgical groups both demonstrated significant visual improvement by discharge. The amount of improvement was not significantly different between all 3 groups (facial fracture repair, 0.38 +/- 0.40; OND + facial fracture repair; 0.32 +/- 1.38; and nonsurgical, 0.69 +/- 1.07). CONCLUSIONS: Facial fracture repair in the setting of traumatic optic neuropathy had no adverse effect on vision. Patients requiring OND + fracture repair had a significantly worse visual prognosis.