Biomedical subjects
Publications and source records attributed to V L Cumberworth.
Pneumoparotitis is a rare cause of parotid enlargement. It is due to a reflux of air through Stensen's duct into the acini of the parotid gland with subsequent dilatation. We report a case which followed a long history of autoinflation of the middle ears by the Valsalva manoeuvre. The plain radiographic, sialographic and ultrasound findings are presented.
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Two different management strategies were applied prospectively and consecutively for 12 months each for epistaxes requiring hospital admission. Patients who did not respond to 48 h nasal packing were treated more successfully and more economically by submucous resection of the nasal septum than by delayed arterial ligation.
We report a case of endolymphatic hydrops preceded by haemodialysis in the contralateral ear of a patient with known Menière's disease, and discuss the possible mechanism. It is suggested that the sudden decrease of plasma osmolality during haemodialysis acts as a reverse glycerol test. The audiometric and electrophysiological recordings pre- and post-dialysis and the induction of the Menière's triad of symptoms during dialysis, were strongly indicative of the presence of endolymphatic hydrops.
A case of severe Pseudomonas perichondritis following a 'fashionable' ear-piercing procedure, performed high on the pinna, is reported. The current vogue for such 'high' ear-piercing, which traverses cartilage rather than the fatty tissue of the ear lobe as in 'traditional' ear-piercing, increases the risk of infection which may produce severe cosmetic deformity.
We report two cases of poorly differentiated mucoepidermoid carcinoma of the larynx which both remain well after surgical management. The first underwent a radical neck dissection for recurrent disease following radiotherapy and the second a total laryngectomy with elective post-operative radiotherapy. Although well differentiated ('low grade') mucoepidermoid tumors of the larynx may respond to radiotherapy surgical management is generally recommended for all grades of such tumours especially for poorly differentiated ('high grade') tumours. Elective post-operative radiotherapy is often advocated for high grade tumours; radical neck dissection is generally undertaken only in the presence of lymphadenopathy, although elective radical neck dissection has been proposed for high grade tumours. These cases emphasise the value of comprehensive surgical management for this condition. Such laryngeal tumours are difficult to diagnose histologically from biopsy and are often initially reported as squamous cell carcinoma.
Thyroglossal duct cysts most frequently present in childhood as a painless midline swelling of the neck. Uncommonly, these embryonal remnant cysts present clinically in adult life. The majority of adults with thyroglossal duct cysts present with a swelling at the level of the thyrohyoid membrane. On rare occasions, a thyroglossal duct cyst can present with more sinister symptoms, such as hoarseness, dysphagia and dyspnoea. On these occasions, the pre-operative clinical and investigative diagnosis remains in doubt until histology is available.