Solitary Bone Plasmacytoma of the Skull Base With an Unusual Presentation.

Solitary bone plasmacytoma (SBP) is a rare hematological malignancy that usually occurs in the spine and rarely in the skull. It rarely presents in the skull base, but presenting symptoms are associated with cranial nerve involvement depending on the site of the disease. We present the case of a 61-year-old man with an unusual presentation of hoarseness secondary to vocal fold palsy. Imaging showed a large bony lesion in the temporo-occipital region with involvement of the jugular foramen. Further detailed diagnostic procedures confirmed SBP of the skull base. Radiotherapy was given with an uneventful recovery of vocal fold function. Skull base plasmacytoma can be considered as a differential diagnosis of causes of unilateral vocal fold palsy. Early therapeutic management may improve vocal fold function.

Aortic Pseudoaneurysm as an Unusual Cause of Vocal Palsy.

The recurrent laryngeal nerve travels a variable course on either side due to the differences in the structures related during development. The nerve is at risk of injury due to a number of pathologies in any of these structures. We came across a very rare pathology causing vocal palsy in a 62-year-old male with hoarseness of voice. Laryngoscopy examination showed left vocal cord palsy without any obvious laryngeal mass. Contrast-enhanced computed tomography study of the neck and chest revealed aortic arch pseudoaneurysm with left vocal cord palsy.

Treatment Options and Voice Outcomes for Patients With Unilateral Vocal Fold Paralysis After Thyroidectomy.

Objectives: This study investigated the treatment options and clinical outcomes of voice therapy (VT), hyaluronic acid (HA) injection, autologous fat injection (FI), and medialization thyroplasty (MT) in patients with unilateral vocal fold paralysis (UVFP) after thyroidectomy. Study Design: Retrospective case series. Setting: A tertiary teaching hospital. Methods: This study included 51 patients with post-thyroidectomy UVFP who underwent VT (n = 20), HA injection (n = 14), FI (n = 12), or MT (n = 5) from January 2016 to June 2021. The treatment outcomes were evaluated using 10-item voice handicap index (VHI-10), maximal phonation time (MPT), and auditory perceptual rating using GRB scales (i.e., grade, roughness, and breathiness) before and 3 to 6 months after treatment. Results: Patients received HA injection presented a significantly shorter interval after thyroidectomy (mean: 4.6 months), followed by VT (6.7 months), FI (12.3 months), and MT (22.4 months). The results exhibited improvement in most of the outcomes after all of the four treatments. Additional comparisons indicated that VHI-10 scores improved the most among patients receiving MT, followed by HA, FI, and VT. The differences of MPT and GRB scores among the 4 treatment groups were non-significant. Conclusions: The results revealed that VT, HA, FI, and MT can all improve the voice outcomes of patients with post-thyroidectomy UVFP. The optimal treatment approach should be individualized according to the patient's preference and vocal demand, and the interval between thyroidectomy and intervention.

Bilateral Vocal Fold Paralysis After COVID-19 mRNA Vaccination: A Case Report.

Since severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) was noted to cause coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) in 2019, there have been many trials to develop vaccines against the virus. Messenger ribonucleic acid (mRNA) vaccine as a type of the vaccine has been developed and commercialized rapidly, but there was not enough time to verify the long-term safety. An 82-year-old female patient was admitted to the emergency room with dyspnea accompanied by stridor three days after the 3rd COVID-19 mRNA vaccination (Comirnaty, Pfizer-BioNTech, USA). The patient was diagnosed with bilateral vocal fold paralysis (VFP) by laryngoscope. Respiratory distress was improved after the intubation and tracheostomy in sequence. The brain, chest, and neck imaging tests, serological tests, cardiological analysis, and immunological tests were performed to evaluate the cause of bilateral VFP. However, no definite cause was found except for the precedent vaccination. Because bilateral VFP can lead to a fatal condition, a quick evaluation is necessary in consideration of VFP when dyspnea with stridor occurs after vaccination.

Non-recurrent laryngeal nerve and arteria lusoria: Rare and little known association.

Non-recurrent Laryngeal nerve is constantly associated with Arteria Lusoria. Knowing this association is the basis of predicting this condition preoperatively. Ultrasonography assessment before thyroid and parathyroid surgery should include identification of brachiocephalic trunk division. Absence of its visualization indicates Arteria Lusoria and then non-recurrent laryngeal nerve.

Use of intraoperative neural monitoring for prognostication of recovery of vocal mobility and reduction of permanent vocal paralysis after thyroidectomy.

INTRODUCTION: The benefits of intraoperative neural monitoring (IONM) of recurrent laryngeal nerve (RLN) on post-thyroidectomy vocal cord palsy (VCP) rates are contentious. We wished to study impact of IONM on permanent VCP after thyroidectomy. METHODS: Retrospective review of prospective series of 1011 (1539 nerves-at-risk) patients undergoing thyroidectomy without (418, group 1) and with (583, group 2) IONM. RESULTS: There were three recognized nerve injuries in group 1, vs one in group 2 (P = .3). There were no differences in overall VCP rates. However, patients in group 2 with immediate postoperative VCP had higher likelihood of full recovery than patients in group 1 (55 of 56 vs 23 of 29 patients, P = .01), and lower incidence of total permanent VCP (2 of 917 vs 9 of 647 patients, P = .01). CONCLUSION: Among patients with immediate postoperative VCP after thyroidectomy, IONM is associated with a higher likelihood of regaining normal vocal function. This may be related to better identification of RLN branching in IONM cases.

Being elderly is not a contraindication of parathyroidectomy for renal hyperparathyroidism and chronic kidney disease-mineral and bone disorder.

BACKGROUND: Chronic kidney disease-mineral and bone disorder (CKD-MBD) has more influence in the elderly. Parathyroidectomy remains the golden standard for this situation but has tended to be excluded for older patients for many reasons. This study aimed to evaluate the efficacy and safety of the surgery in the elderly population. METHODS: 156 patients were included and arranged into younger (≦65 years of age, n = 139) and elderly (>65 years of age, n = 17) groups. The change of bone mineral density (BMD) data, recovery potential {[(postoperative BMD) - (preoperative BMD)]/(preoperative BMD) ∗ 100%}, surgical successful rate and related complications were collected. RESULTS: Both groups exhibited significant postoperative improvement on the BMD results. The recovery potential of the elderly was not lower than the younger group. High success rate and none of persistent vocal palsy, hypocalcemia or any sequela were also observed in the elderly. CONCLUSIONS: Parathyroidectomy is an effective and safe intervention for the CKD-MBD in the elderly.

Demographic and Symptomatic Features of Voice Disorders and Their Potential Application in Classification Using Machine Learning Algorithms.

BACKGROUND: Studies have used questionnaires of dysphonic symptoms to screen voice disorders. This study investigated whether the differential presentation of demographic and symptomatic features can be applied to computerized classification. METHODS: We recruited 100 patients with glottic neoplasm, 508 with phonotraumatic lesions, and 153 with unilateral vocal palsy. Statistical analyses revealed significantly different distributions of demographic and symptomatic variables. Machine learning algorithms, including decision tree, linear discriminant analysis, K-nearest neighbors, support vector machine, and artificial neural network, were applied to classify voice disorders. RESULTS: The results showed that demographic features were more effective for detecting neoplastic and phonotraumatic lesions, whereas symptoms were useful for detecting vocal palsy. When combining demographic and symptomatic variables, the artificial neural network achieved the highest accuracy of 83 ± 1.58%, whereas the accuracy achieved by other algorithms ranged from 74 to 82.6%. Decision tree analyses revealed that sex, age, smoking status, sudden onset of dysphonia, and 10-item voice handicap index scores were significant characteristics for classification. CONCLUSION: This study demonstrated a significant difference in demographic and symptomatic features between glottic neoplasm, phonotraumatic lesions, and vocal palsy. These features may facilitate automatic classification of voice disorders through machine learning algorithms.

Vocal palsy increases the risk of lower respiratory tract infection in low-risk, low-morbidity patients undergoing thyroidectomy for benign disease: A big data analysis.

OBJECTIVES: Thyroidectomy is the commonest operation that places normally functioning laryngeal nerves at risk of injury. Vocal palsy is a major risk factor for dysphonia, dysphagia, and less commonly, airway obstruction. We investigated the association between post-thyroidectomy vocal palsy and long-term risks of pneumonia and laryngeal failure. DESIGN: An N=near-all analysis of the English administrative dataset using a previously validated informatics algorithm to identify young and otherwise low-risk patients undergoing first-time elective thyroidectomy for benign disease. Information about age, sex, morbidities, social deprivation and post-operative and late complications were derived. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Between 2004 and 2012, 43 515 patients between the ages of 20 and 69 who had no history of cancer, neurological, or respiratory disease underwent elective total or hemithyroidectomy without concomitant or late neck dissection, parathyroidectomy or laryngotracheal surgery for benign thyroid disease for the first and only time. Information about age, sex, morbidities and in-hospital and late complications was recorded. RESULTS: Mean age at surgery was 46±12. There was a strong female preponderance (85%), and most patients (89%) had no recorded Charlson comorbidities Most patients (65%) underwent hemithyroidectomy. Late vocal palsy was recorded in 449 (1.03%) patients, and its occurrence was an independent risk factor for emergency hospital readmission (n=7113; Hazard Ratio 1.52; 95% confidence interval 1.21-1.91), hospitalisation for lower respiratory tract infection (n=944; HR 2.04; 95% CI 1.07-3.75), dysphagia (n=564; HR 3.47; 95% CI 1.57-7.65) and gastrostomy/tracheostomy placement (n=80; HR 20.8; 95% CI 2.5-171.2). Independent risk factors for late vocal palsy were age, burden of morbidities, total thyroidectomy, post operative bleeding, male sex, and annual surgeon volume <30. CONCLUSIONS: There is a significant association between post-thyroidectomy vocal palsy and long-term risks of hospital readmission, dysphagia, hospitalisation for lower respiratory tract infection, and gastrostomy/tracheostomy tube placement. This adds weight to the need, from a thyroid surgical perspective, to undertake universal post-thyroidectomy laryngeal surveillance as a minimum standard of care, with a focus on post-operative dysphagia and aspiration, and from a medical/respiratory perspective, to initiate investigations to identify occult vocal palsy in patients who present with pneumonia, who have a history of thyroid surgery.

Modifications to the Fenestration Approach for Arytenoid Adduction Under Local Anesthesia.

OBJECTIVE: We modified the fenestration approach for arytenoid adduction to make it easier to perform the surgery. The aim of this study was to evaluate the usefulness of our modifications, which included (1) use of an Alexis wound retractor (Applied Medical) to secure the surgical field through a small incision, and (2) use of a 12-mm, 1/2 R, insert-molded taper needle with 3-0 nylon suture to prevent damage to the arytenoid cartilage. STUDY DESIGN: This is a retrospective non-randomized observational cross-sectional study. METHODS: We compared the operative time and skin incision length between the conventional fenestration approach and our modified procedure, and verified the improvement of patients' voice by our procedure. RESULTS: Seven patients underwent the conventional fenestration approach for arytenoid adduction with type I thyroplasty, whereas nine patients underwent our modified fenestration approach for arytenoid adduction with type I thyroplasty. The skin incision length with our modifications (median, 3.0 cm; interquartile range [IQR], 3.0-4.0) was significantly shorter than with the conventional procedure (median, 5.0 cm; IQR, 4.3-5.8) (P = 0.001). The operative time with our modifications (median, 95 minutes; IQR, 90-100) was significantly shorter than without our modifications (median, 115; IQR, 100-130) (P = 0.035). All patients who underwent our modified fenestration approach for arytenoid adduction had maximum phonation time greater than 11 seconds after surgery. CONCLUSIONS: Our two distinctive modifications reduced the operative time and skin incision length for the fenestration approach, which improved the procedure by making it less invasive.

A classification system for airway compromise due to bilateral vocal fold mobility impairment.

We present a system for classification of bilateral vocal fold mobility impairment. Type 1 obstructions are caused by bilateral laryngeal denervation, most commonly due to bilateral recurrent laryngeal nerve palsy. Type 2 obstructions are caused by crico-arytenoid joint ankylosis. Type 3 obstructions are due to inter-arytenoid granulation tissue. Type 4 lesions are caused by mature inter-arytenoid scar tissue and type 5 lesions are complex or total laryngeal stenoses.

An estimation of the population incidence of adult unilateral vocal fold mobility impairment in England.

We estimate the population incidence of adult unilateral vocal fold mobility impairment at 5.13 per 100,000 per year.