rare site of fish bone impaction: a case report

Fish bone impaction is a fairly common complaint in the ENT-outpatient and ER. Most fish bone impactions occur in the tonsil, tongue base, vallecula and cervical oesophagus. Fish bone impactions in the larynx are rare and impactions in the epiglottis have not been reported. The case presentation demonstrates a very rare case of fish bone in the epiglottis

Deep neck space infections in a three month old child: a case report

A three month old boy presented with fever, dysphagia and dyspnoea. The child had a swelling behind the mandible, the soft palate was congested and oedematous, and the tonsil was congested and medially displaced. Intra oral aspiration of the pus following endotracheal intubation relieved the condition. The child was later found to have peritonsillar, parapharyngeal and retropharyngeal abscesses on Computerized Tomography. E.Coli was grown on culture. Repeat aspiration and antibiotic therapy were given to resolve the infection. A tonsillectomy was performed six weeks later. Neck space infections rarely occur in infants and can lead to respiratory obstruction. Antibiotics administered should cover Gram negative bacteria along with Gram positive and anaerobic bacteria. Repeated intraoral aspiration if monitored by CT scan obviates the need for incision and drainage in small children

An unusual cyst of the lateral neck in a child - a thymic cyst: a case report

A case of a thymic cyst in a child is reported and the literature reviewed. A 7 year old girl presented with a swelling in the neck on the left of one months' duration. There was no history of fever, pain or dysphagia. CT revealed a cyst in the anterior triangle of the neck between the carotid sheath and thyroid. The cyst was excised, the histopathology revealed a thymic cyst. Thymic cysts are an unusual cause for lateral neck cysts; are commonly seen in childhood, and are more common in males. Our patient was a young girl who did not have pressure symptoms. Usually unilocular, they resemble branchial cysts or lymphangiomas. Thymic cysts are the rarest of the congenital neck masses. They present as asymptomatic cysts in early childhood. Thymic cysts should be considered when confronted with a unilateral infrahyoid lateral neck cyst. There are no radiologically diagnostic features, and diagnosis is made on biopsy