Vocal cord actinomycosis: a case report

Actinomycosis is a systemic chronic bacterial infection caused by Actinomyces Israelii, an anaerobic organism normally resident in the human mouth. However, the actinomycosis of the larynx is very rare, and only about 15 cases have been reported in the literature so far. Most of the cases reported occurred in patients who had previously undergone radiotherapy for laryngeal cancer. Here we report a case of actinomycosis of the larynx in a 14-year-old shepherd boy who was not immunocompromised but had a history of tooth extraction two months prior to admission to the hospital and severe laryngitis one year prior to admission. Laryngeal actinomycosis might be related to poor oral hygiene and mucosal barrier disruption, as well as to being immunocompromised

Schwannoma of the cervical sympathetic chain; clinical and therapeutic considerations

Schwannomas are benign, slow-growing tumors that arise from Shwann cells of the nerve sheath. Those originating from the sympathetic cervical chain are extremely rare and usually presented as an asymptomatic neck mass. Here were reports a case of schwannoma of the cervical sympathetic chain in a 32-year-old man who had asymptomatic neck mass for 6 months. But it appeared pulsatile due to the anterior displacement of carotid sheath by the mass and thus mimics are carotid body tumor. As discussed in this report CT scan with contrast is enough for ruling out paraganglioma and imposing extra expense for MRI and angiography is unnecessary. The only rare complication encountered after surgery was Horner's syndrome, which required not treatment