A Case of NK/T Cell Lymphoma in Sinonasal Tract / 대한이비인후과학회지

Primary sinonasal NK/T cell lymphoma is relatively common in Asia than in Western countries, comprising up to 7% of all Non-Hodgkin's lymphoma with a marked preponderance demonstrating a NK/T-cell phenotype. Sinonasal NK/T cell lymphoma is typically associated with abundant crust on mucosal surface, widespread necrosis, and extensive inflammation. Sinonasal NK/T cell lymphoma is characterized by a progressive clinical course and poor prognosis, and histologically, it shows angioinvasion and necrosis. It is referred to by such terms as non-healing granuloma, lethal granuloma or midline granuloma. Treatment of NK/T cell lymphoma consists of radiotherapy, chemotherapy, or both. We experienced a case of sinonasal NK/T cell lymphoma in a 65 year old man who complained of periorbital swelling.

Rheumatoid Arthritis of the Larynx: A Case Report / 대한이비인후과학회지

Rheumatoid arthritis is a destructive systemic disorder of unknown etiology. The disease follows a prolonged and fluctuating course. It is characterized by periods of remission and exacerbation. Typically articular manifestations are encountered in the smaller peripheral joints. It has been estimated that 25% of patients with rheumatoid arthritis will show clinical evidence of laryngeal involvement in the course of disease course. Postmortem studies suggest that the actual incidence of laryngeal arthritis may be as high as 50-80%. Yet the studies of laryngeal arthritis have not been reported in Korea. It is thought that because of the lack of interest in laryngeal arthritis, a lot of diseases caused by laryngits or vocal cord paralysis have been overlooked. Authors report with a review of the literature that a patient who suffered from voice change and cord palsy was confirmed to have laryngeal arthritis.

The Study for Various Movements of the Arytenoid Cartilage in Functional Diseases of Vocal Folds / 대한이비인후과학회지

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: Functional diseases of vocal folds have shown various movements of the arytenoid cartilage, however, they have not been documented yet. We studied to find out the relationships between functional diseases of vocal folds and arytenoid movements. MATERIALS AND METHOD: 224 subjects were evaluated by using videostroboscopic examinations. The subjects were classified into three types; notch, ball, and flat types according to the patterns of arytenoid movement during phonation. Vocal fold lesions were investigated and arytenoid movements were compared between normal and disease groups. RESULTS: The arytenoid movements of notch type were more than ball type or flat type in both normal and disease groups. The disease group showed many asymmetric movements of arytenoid cartilage when compared with the normal group. Vocal nodule and vocal polyp showed asymmetric movements of arytenoid cartilage. Conclusions: We found that the functional diseases of vocal folds were related to the asymmetric movements of arytenoid cartilage. We suggest that the various movements of arytenoid cartilage should be considered when functional diseases of vocal folds are examined.

Characteristics of Esophageal Voice /a/ and /i/ in Totally Laryngectomized Patients / 대한이비인후과학회지

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: The esophageal voice can be a choice for alaryngeal patients. However, many patients fail to get a esophageal voice, because there are no known systematic principles nor specific training methods of producing the esophageal voice. We evaluated the difference between two vowels of the esophageal voice that have different shapes and movements of the speech apparatus. We also tried to find a relationship between the speech apparatus and the esophageal voice. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Alaryngeal patients were investigated with acoustic analysis, aerodynamic analysis and pharyngoesophagogram. We used the vowel /a/ in which the mouth is widely open and the tongue is posteriorly positioned and vowel /i/ in which the mouth is less widely open and the tongue is anteriorly positioned. We compared the results of analytic studies between two vowels. RESULTS: The esophageal voice has a higher pitch and a lower sound in the /i/ vowel. The hypopharyngeal space above the neoglottis was extended more anteriorly. The /i/ vowel made a more tight contact with the neoglottis to the anterior wall and the short length of the neoglottis. CONCLUSIONS: The results of acoustic analysis and pharyngoesophagogram showed that there were differences between the /a/ vowel and the /i/ vowel of the esophageal voice.