Biomedical subjects
E Sancho Serrano
Publications and source records attributed to E Sancho Serrano.
[Malignant melanoma of the middle ear, a rare site].
Melanomas of upper airway tract constitute around 1% of the total melanomas of head and neck. It's for this reason we cannot forget their location in middle ear, although it is truly rare, and we have only found three cases published in literature. We report a patient of 75 years old, who went to our hospital with otorrhea of two months of evolution, with subjective sensation of deafness. In the exploration ENT a bleeding neoformation was observed by otoscopy, which occupied all external auditory canal. The biopsy of this neoformation was informed as malignant neoplasm. These cells show a little cytoplasmic melanotic pigment and were positive to the tinction with Masson Fontana, as well as to the immunohistochemical antibodies S-100 and HMB-45. These antibodies are specific of malignant melanoma. We had a low opinion of surgical treatment because the affectation of the temporal bone and the size of melanoma. Because of badly prognosis, our patient died six months after the diagnosis.
[Middle ear carcinoma].
Middle-ear cancer represents 5 to 10% of all ear neoplasms. Risk factors include chronic suppurative pathology of the middle ear and prior irradiation. Most malignant tumors are squamous-cell carcinomas. We report the case of a 51-year-old woman with this process. The ideal treatment is mastoidectomy or pterosectomy followed by radiotherapy. We made a bibliographic review of the clinical manifestations, diagnosis, treatment, and prognosis of middle-ear cancer. Five-year survival rates range from 25 to 50% in patients who undergo surgery and radiotherapy.
[Invasive giant prolactinoma].
Large prolactin-secreting tumors are rare and their endocrinological and surgical management may be complex. We report the case of a patient with a prolonged history of unilateral tinnitus and sensation of a stopped-up ear who had a very large, invasive and aggressive tumor of the sphenoidal region with bone destruction, invasion of structures in every direction from the sellar region and extracranial extension to the ethmoid and nasopharynx. Serum prolactin level at the time of diagnosis was 16,860 ng/ml (normal: 3-17 ng/ml). Medical treatment with bromocriptine reduced the prolactin level to 31 ng/ml and reduced the size of the tumor, although less than expected. The literature is reviewed and the rarity of such large, invasive prolactinomas is highlighted, as well as the absence of symptoms and signs suggesting the presence of such a large tumor of the skull base.
[Olfactory esthesioneuroblastoma. Review of seven cases].
Esthesioneuroblastomas are fairly rare malignant tumors: only 20 cases have been reported in Spanish records. It is locally aggressive and produces late recurrences. There is no such thing as a universally accepted treatment model. We describe our experience with 7 cases seen in our hospital from 1980 to 1996. A or B stages can be treated with irradiation, surgery or a combination of both. C stages with the most aggressive tendencies may require the combined use of preoperative irradiation, surgery and chemotherapy. We analyzed the forms of presentation, diagnosis, differential diagnosis, treatment, prognosis, and survival. The 5-year survival rate was 75, 60 and 41% for stages A, B and C, respectively.
[ENT outpatient surgery].
The number of patients who undergo outpatient surgery is constantly growing in Spain. Outpatient surgery is interesting not only because of its economy, but also the social benefits that derive from patients returning home sooner and the rapid reduction of the waiting list. We discuss our experience in the last year with 40 patients who underwent surgery. We made a comparative study of patients with the same pathology and anesthetic risk who were treated by outpatient surgery and those treated by inpatient surgery with a traditional technique who were admitted 24 hours before surgery. Our rate of complications (19%) was close to the traditional rate. However, 3, 927, 000 pesetas were saved and the patients were very satisfied, which encouraged us to continue. Indications and complications are discussed.