Non-recurrent laryngeal nerve with a coexisting contralateral nerve demonstrating extralaryngeal branching.

Non-recurrence and extralaryngeal branching are 2 of the more frequently encountered anomalies of the recurrent laryngeal nerve. If not anticipated intraoperatively, these abnormalities can put the nerve at risk, with subsequent vocal cord palsy. It is therefore important to report on and understand these abnormalities. We present a unique case of a non-recurrent laryngeal nerve with a coexisting contralateral nerve demonstrating extralaryngeal branching. This case allows us to demonstrate the importance of arteria lusoria in head and neck surgery, and to conclude that non-recurrence and extralaryngeal branching can occur separately within individual nerves in the same patient. The case also highlights the importance of a systematic intraoperative approach to the identification of every recurrent laryngeal nerve, especially in bilateral procedures having already exposed an anomalous nerve on one side.

Duplication of the right internal jugular vein: A case report.

We present a case of duplication of the right internal jugular vein (IJV) in a patient who underwent neck dissection as part of the management of carcinoma of the larynx. The patient was a 63-year-old man who presented to the otolaryngology department with a 7-month history of hoarseness and a 3-week history of noisy breathing. Flexible endoscopy detected a transglottic tumor that had extended beyond the vocal folds. The patient underwent a total laryngectomy and bilateral selective neck dissection at levels II-VI. Intraoperatively, the right IJV was noted to be duplicated. The duplicate segment was approximately 10 cm in length, and it rejoined the normal vein before the normal vein joined the subclavian vein.