ABSTRACT
Kaposi’s sarcoma (KS) is the most common malignancy observed in patient with acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS). It rarely causes upper airway obstruction. We report a 39-year-old gentleman, a former intravenous drug user with AIDS and Hepatitis C positive who developed progressive hoarseness with stidor. He underwent an emergency tracheostomy and direct laryngoscopy revealed a whitish globular laryngeal mass obscuring the glottic region. A biopsy of the mass was taken and the histopathological report showed evidence of spindle cell connective tissue, consistent with Kaposi’s sarcoma. It is important for clinicians or surgeons to maintain a high index of suspicion for the diagnosis of laryngeal KS in immunodeficiency patient even without cutaneous manifestation.
ABSTRACT
Antrochoanal polyps are rare lesions. We report a series of 40 consecutive cases of antrochoanal polyps treated in our tertiary centre over a period of ten years between May 1998 and April 2008. The median age of the patients was 37 years. The most common clinical symptom was nasal obstruction (92.5%) followed by rhinorrhoea (45%), postnasal drip (35%) and snoring (22.5 %). The median period of follow-up of these patients was 30 months. Various surgical approaches were used; the commonest was powered endoscopic polypectomy and middle meatal antrostomy in 28 patients (70%), followed by endoscopic polypectomy and middle meatal antrostomy in seven patients (17.5%). Five patients (12.5%) underwent powered endoscopic polypectomy without middle meatal antrostomy. In addition, two patients had septoplasty and one had a frontal sinustomy. There were six patients (15%) who had combined sublabial antrostomy. No major complications occurred; four patients relapsed; three patients had initial operation performed elsewhere and one patient developed recurrence after the first surgery. The median hospitalization period was three days. We conclude that, the use of powered instrumentation in the removal of antrochoanal polyps is safe, effective and associated with minimal morbidity.