Two Cases of Spontaneous Cerebrospinal Fluid Rhinorrhea by Idiopathic Bony Defects / 대한이비인후과학회지

Cerebrospinal fluid rhinorrhea can be caused by head trauma, brain or sinus surgery or neoplastic sinonasal disease. In addition, CSF rhinorrhea may develop spontaneously in some cases. We experienced two cases of spontaneous CSF rhinorrhea caused by idiopathic bony defect. The first case was a 47-year old female who complained of a persistent rhinorrhea for 2 months without surgical or traumatic history. The second case was a 40-year old female. Having no surgical or traumatic history, she also suffered from a persistent rhinorrhea for thirteen years. For diagnosis of CSF rhinorrhea, we carried out endoscopic examination, glucose test of rhinorrhea, computed tomograph, magnetic resonance imaging and (99m)Tc-DTPA cisternography. We found bony defect in the cribriform plate of the two cases. Patients were treated successfully with endoscopic approach. Leak sites were repaired with free graft materials. There has not been any recurrence or complications since the endoscopic closure.

Effect of Bimodal Hearing in Speech Perception Under Noisy Environment According to Residual Hearing / 대한이비인후과학회지

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: In this study, we evaluated the effect of bimodal hearing in the speech perception test and the increasing level of bimodal hearing over cochlear implantation in speech perception score regarding residual hearing. SUBJECTS AND METHOD: Nineteen prelingually deaf patients, who had used bimodal hearing over a period of 8 months, were divided in two groups in accordance to their low frequency residual hearing. The children were tested in open-set speech perception under +10 SNR and +20 SNR. The scores of bimodal hearing and unilateral cochlear implantation were compared by the Wilcoxon signed-rank test. Also, the increased level of speech perception scores of bimodal hearing over cochlear implantation alone were calculated using the formula, [bimodal score (%)-unilateral cochlear implantation (%)], and was compared between groups. RESULTS: In pure tone audiometry under silent condition, the result of bimodal hearing was similar to unilateral cochlear implantation in magnitude in both groups. Under the noisy condition, both groups had better result in bimodal hearing in terms of speech perception. Also, the increased level was higher in bimodal hearing over unilateral cochlear implantation in the better residual hearing group. However, since the sample size was small enough, it is considered that there was no statistical significance. CONCLUSION: Cochlear implanted patients with residual hearing are expected to get better speech perception in noisy environment with bimodal hearing regardless of the level of residual hearing.

A Case of Angiomyoma of the Inferior Turbinate

Vascular leiomyoma (Angiomyoma) is a benign tumor composed of smooth muscle cell and vascular endothelium. Most of them occur at the skin of the lower leg. Cases of vascular leiomyomas developing in the nasal cavity and paranasal sinuses are extremely rare. Most common symptoms are nasal obstruction, epistaxis and nasal pain but none are specific for diagnosis. Complete surgical excision is the treatment of choice and was used in all cases reported. Local recurrence rate is very low. We experienced a case of vascular leiomyoma in the inferior turbinate of a 70-year-old woman who complained of intermittent epistaxis. The tumor was successfully removed via an endoscopic approach. It displayed the characteristic histological findings of abundant thick-walled blood vessels blending with proliferative smooth muscle tissue.

Endoscopic Repairment of Septal Perforation with Using a Unilateral Nasal Mucosal Flap

OBJECTIVES: Nasal septal perforation is an anatomic defect of the cartilaginous and bone tissues of the nasal septum. Many approaches and techniques to repair nasal septal perforations have been reported on. The purpose of this paper is to report on our surgical technique and the results of the treatment for nasal septal perforations. METHODS: From May 2001 to March 2008, 14 patients (12 males and 2 females; mean age: 41.3 yr) were enrolled. The mean perforation size was 15 mm, and all the perforations were located at the cartilaginous portion. Our surgical technique is based on an endoscope-assisted endonasal approach, with dissection of unilateral advanced mucosal flaps with using a temporalis fascia graft. The follow-up periods ranged from 3 to 23 months (mean follow-up period: 8 months). RESULTS: Using our surgical technique on 14 patients, 12 cases (85.7%) of septal perforation were closed without complication. The remaining two patients (14.3%) had incomplete closures (about 2-3 mm) without any significant symptoms related to the remaining perforation. CONCLUSION: Our technique is a viable procedure with a high success rate for achieving closure of nasal septal perforations. It has the advantages of shortening the operative time, no external incision and avoiding any other perforation during the operation. Therefore, we consider it to be a good alternative for repairing nasal septal perforations.

The Significance of Radiologic Positive Finding of Paranasal Sinus in Bone Marrow Transplant Patients

BACKGROUND: Bone marrow transplantation (BMT) is a beneficial and curative technique used in different hematologic conditions or malignant neoplastic diseases. However, bone marrow transplant patients are at a higher risk of developing infections and complications due to previous chemotherapy, radiotherapy, immunosuppression, antibiotics therapy, multiple viral infections, and GVHD (graft-versus-host disease). OBJECTIVES: The purpose of this study is to determine the prevalence and clinical data of rhinosinusitis among patients with BMT. We also investigated whether pre-BMT positive radiologic finding could predispose patients to the development of post-BMT rhinosinusitis or not. MATERIALS AND METHODS: We reviewed the records of 203 patients who had received BMT in Kyungpook National University's hospital from September 1998 to August 2006. RESULT: Sixteen patients (7.8%) had radiologic positive finding before BMT. Fifteen patients had no sinonasal symptoms and did not get any treatment. Only one patient had rhinosinusitis so that BMT was delayed and treated with antibiotics. Among these patients, one patient got newly developed rhinosinusitis after BMT. After BMT, sinusitis developed in ten patients (4.9%), including one patient who had invasive fungal sinusitis. Our study revealed a higher incidence of rhinosinusitis among allogenic BMT patients than among autologous BMT patients. The most common symptoms and signs were fever. Only one patient complained of typical sinonasal symptoms. CONCLUSION: Even though the prevalence of rhinosinusitis is low (4.9%) among post-BMT patients, maintenance of a high index of suspicion among these patients is necessary because sinonasal symptoms and signs are generally minimized after BMT. The study concluded that pre-BMT positive radiologic findings without sinonasal symptoms is unlikely to develop post-BMT rhinosinusitis.

A Case of Cervical Thoracic Duct Cyst / 대한이비인후과학회지

Cysts of thoracic duct are uncommon. The most commonly involved site is the thoracic segment of the thoracic duct followed by the abdominal and cervical segments of the thoracic duct. To date, about 15 cases of cervical thoracic duct cysts have been described in the literature. Information regarding the natural history of these cysts and their pathogenesis is limited. The primary symptom and sign are generally a palpable soft left supraclavicular swelling. We report a case of cervical thoracic duct cyst with a review of literature.