[Case report: isolated facial paralysis with a tick.]. / Olgu Sunumu: Kene Isirmasi ile Olusan Izole Fasiyal Paralizi.

Tick-borne diseases are seen all over the world and their importance rises increasingly. It is noticeably important that disease and death rates due to tick-bites in our country in different areas increased in 2008. In Turkey, the numbers of diseases which are transmitted by ticks are considerably large and all of them are not detected. Reports of isolated facial paralysis cases due to tick infestation in the ear are infrequent in literature. The development of isolated facial paralysis due to ticks can be explained by several theories. This article reports a case report of a 3 year- old girl who was bought to our clinic with severe left ear pain and paresthesia on the left half of her face. She couldn't close her left eye and she lisped. The tick was removed from her external auditory canal surgically.

Frontoethmoid sinus osteoma as a cause of subperiosteal orbital abscess.

A 65-year-old woman presented with severe periorbital pain and swelling of the left eye, with complete ptosis, proptosis, and conjunctival chemosis. The eye was in a hypotropic position, and activity in the left superior rectus was inadequate. A firm, elastic, 2-cm mass was palpated near the superior orbital rim. Computed tomography revealed a subperiosteal abscess (SPA) at the superior portion of the orbit and a large frontoethmoidal sinus osteoma. After the SPA had been surgically drained and the osteoma completely removed, the patient recovered, with resolution of proptosis, ptosis, and motility limitations. Osteomas of the paranasal sinuses are usually asymptomatic and rarely cause SPA and orbital cellulitis. Therefore, osteoma cases must be closely followed to ensure that early diagnosis and treatment of SPA are successful in preventing severe visual loss and rescuing the patient's vision.

Scintigraphic evaluation of nasal mucociliary activity in unilateral chronic otitis media.

Mucociliary clearance is a key defence mechanism in human upper and lower airways. Although mucociliary activity is present in both ears of the patients, most cases of chronic otitis media are unilateral. In this study, we aim to evaluate the difference between nasal mucociliary activity of the affected and non-affected sides in patients with unilateral chronic otitis media. Both nasal transport times of 36 patients with unilateral chronic otitis media were compared statistically with each other and with the control group by independent samples t-test. The nasal mucociliary transport times of the nasal cavity at the same side as the affected ear and as the non-affected ear are significantly different, in the same patients. Our study shows that impaired or decreased nasal mucociliary activity may result in dysfunction of the eustachian tube and middle-ear ciliary activity, which plays an important role in the aetiopathogenesis of chronic otitis media.

Near total laryngectomy: the problems influencing functions and their solutions.

We investigated the problems affecting functional outcomes of near-total laryngectomy and their solutions. A retrospective analysis about complications (i.e., aspiration, pharyngocutenous fistula, shunt stenosis, etc.) that affect postoperative functions was made by using the medical records of 23 male patients (mean age: 56.6, range: 35 to 72 years) who underwent near total laryngectomy. Maximal phonation times of 17 patients and fundamental frequencies of 10 patients were measured and compared with control groups consisting of sex- and age-matched normal laryngeal speakers. Pharyngocutenous fistula occurred in five cases and closed by secondary wound healing. The incidence of aspiration was 42%. Shunt stenosis wasn't observed in our cases, but loss of phonation occurred because of tumor recurrence at the neoglottal region in the 1st postoperative year of one patient. All patients were able to produce voice, and communicable speech was achieved by 19 (82.6%). Measurements of maximal phonation time indicated a significant decrease in the NTL group. The increase in fundamental frequency values of the near total laryngectomy group was also found significant in relation to the control group. After careful patient selection, extreme effort should be made to create a dynamic shunt and complete mucosal covering of the inner surface of the shunt in near total laryngectomy, thus not only producing voice without aspiration or shunt stenosis, but also providing oncologic safety in the patients with sufficient vital capacity.

[The evaluation of voice quality after near-total laryngectomy]. / Near-total larenjektomiden sonra ses kalitesinin degerlendirilmesi.

OBJECTIVES: It was intended to compare various characteristics of phonation obtained in cases who underwent near-total laryngectomy (NTL) and frontolateral laryngectomy (FLL). STUDY DESIGN: The study included 29 male cases, 9 of whom underwent NTL, 10 of whom underwent FLL and 10 who had normal laryngeal speech. All cases were evaluated and compared statistically according to the fundamental frequency (Fo), intensity and voiceless time measurements, maximal phonation time (MPT), speech rate and speech intelligibility. RESULTS: Fo and Fo range were found significantly high in both patient groups, but MPT and speech rate was meaningfully decreased in these groups relative to the control group. There were not any significant differences between the two patient groups. The speech intelligibilities of the NTL group patients were significantly low relative to other two groups. The voiceless time measurements during phonation were significantly high in two patients groups, but we also found that it was not effective on speech rate and intelligibility. CONCLUSION: The phonation gained after NTL is similar to that of FLL in respect of various features. But owing to differences of the speech intelligibility measurements, we concluded that patients who underwent NTL could be exposed to more problems during communication with their social surroundings.

[An evaluation of surgical techniques and oncologic results in early glottic cancers]. / Erken evreli glottik kanserlerde cerrahi tedavi seçimi ve onkolojik sonuçlar.

OBJECTIVES: We evaluated the surgical techniques employed and survival rates in patients who were treated for early glottic cancer. PATIENTS AND METHODS: The study included 29 patients (28 males, 1 female; mean age 59 years; range 47 to 73 years) who underwent surgery for early glottic cancer. Surgical techniques were employed in view of factors such as involvement of the anterior commissure, the extent of sub- or supraglottic invasion, and cord mobility. Two- and five-year survival rates were calculated. TNM classification was made according to the 1992 AJCC staging system. RESULTS: Preoperative tumor stages were TisN0 (n=2, 7%), T1N0 (n=20, 69%), and T2N0 (n=7, 24%). Surgical techniques included laryngofissure and cordectomy (n=9, 31%), frontolateral laryngectomy (n=18, 62%), and vertical hemilaryngectomy (n=2, 7%). Positive surgical margins were reported postoperatively in 10 patients, eight of whom remained tumor-free with (n=4) or without (n=4) radiation therapy during the follow-up period, while two patients underwent total laryngectomy because of local recurrences. Three patients died due to causes other than the primary disease. Two- and five-year survival rates were 88.8% and 80%, respectively. CONCLUSION: Involvement of the anterior commissure, and the extent of invasion to the subglottis, supraglottis, and the laryngeal ventricle seem to play a major role in selecting the most appropriate surgical technique in early glottic cancer.

[Patient selection for near-total laryngectomy and oncologic results]. / Near-total larenjektomi için hasta seçimi ve onkolojik sonuçlar.

OBJECTIVES: We reviewed preoperative, perioperative, and postoperative findings and the survival data to determine which patients may be appropriate for near-total laryngectomy. PATIENTS AND METHODS: We reviewed hospital records of 20 patients (all males; mean age 56.6 years; range 35 to 73 years) who underwent near-total laryngectomy. Indications for patient selection for near-total laryngectomy and survival data were evaluated in comparison with literature reports. RESULTS: The site of the tumor was the sinus pyriformis in two, and the larynx in 18 patients. Thirteen patients had T3, seven patients had T2 tumors. The lesions were localized in the sinus pyriformis in two patients with T2 tumors. The locoregional control rate at the end of two years was 75%; two- and three-year survival rates were 81.2% and 64.2%, respectively. CONCLUSION: Following a detailed and meticulous investigation in the preoperative period, near-total laryngectomy seems to be appropriate in selected patients with advanced laryngeal and hypopharyngeal tumors in which partial laryngectomy procedures are not considered. It may both provide cure and preserve phonation. It may also be considered for functional purposes in patients whose pulmonary functions are insufficient for partial laryngectomy, in those in whom food aspiration is inevitable after partial laryngectomy, and in those suffering from lifelong food aspiration due to neurologic causes, and for oncologic reasons in patients who develop local recurrences after partial laryngectomy.