Tendinitis calcificante del longísimo del cuello / Acute calcific tendinitis of the longus colli muscles

RESUMEN La tendinitis calcificante prevertebral es una patología benigna y poco frecuente, con una incidencia anual de 0,5 casos por cada 100.000 habitantes. Se presenta un caso de una paciente de 52 años que consultó por cervicalgia, odinofagia y disfonía de 5 días de evolución. Tras una exploración otorrinolaringológica completa se sospechó ocupación del espacio retrofaríngeo, confirmada con pruebas de imagen. Ante estos hallazgos y con la sospecha de absceso retrofaríngeo, se decidió ingreso hospitalario para tratamiento intravenoso. Por discordancia entre la clínica, la TC y los hallazgos analíticos, se solicitó RM cervical, cuya imagen hizo sospechar una tendinitis aguda calcificante del longísimo del cuello. En este trabajo se ha realizado una revisión de la sintomatología, el diagnóstico y el tratamiento de esta entidad. Consideramos importante sospecharla dentro del diagnóstico diferencial de la ocupación del espacio retrofaríngeo para evitar realizar procedimientos innecesarios.

ABSTRACT Prevertebral calcific tendinitis is a benign and infrequent pathology, with an annual incidence of 0.5 cases per 100,000 habitants. We report the case of a 52-year-old woman that presented with a 5-day history of cervicalgia, odynophagia and dysphonia. Otolaryngological examination and radiological images showed occupation of the retropharyngeal space. The patient was admitted to the hospital for intravenous treatment. A cervical MRI was requested, suggesting an acute calcific tendinitis of the longus colli muscles. The authors provide a discussion of the clinical findings, diagnosis and treatment of this condition. We consider it to be an important differential diagnosis of a retropharyngeal space occupation, in order to avoid unnecessary procedures.

A Case of Retropharyngeal Huge Lipoma Causing Dysphagia / 대한이비인후과학회지

Lipomas of the retropharyngeal space are rare, and they do not cause symptoms until they reach a large size. Although retropharyngeal lipoma is an uncommon entity, several reports have appeared about it in the literature, where the treatment has routinely been surgical excision. We present a case of huge lipoma of the retropharyngeal space. It extended from the oropharynx to the inferior portion of thyroid gland, causing symptoms of globus and dysphagia in a 74-year-old male. The patient had multiple medical problems and had been on anticoagulants, so we approached the mass via transcervical incision. After a complete surgical resection, all the symptoms of the patient improved. A large retropharyngeal lipoma could also be differentially diagnosed as a laryngopharyngeal mass presenting symptoms of globus and dysphagia.

Retropharyngeal Spindle Cell/Pleomorphic Lipoma

Spindle cell/pleomorphic lipoma is an uncommon benign adipose tissue tumor most frequently arising from the subcutaneous tissue of the back, shoulder, head and neck, and extremities. The deep cervical spaces are the rarely affected locations. Herein we report on the imaging findings of spindle cell/pleomorphic lipoma involving the retropharyngeal space in an elderly woman.

Extraosseous Chordoma of Retropharyngeal Space.

Chordomas are malignant bone neoplasms that originate from embryonic notochordal remnants, and they affect the skull base and the spine1. The cervical spine chordoma extends rarely into retropharyngeal space. However, primary chordoma of retropharyngeal space with no involvement of axial skeleton is very rare. These tumours are called as extraosseous chordoma2. We present a rare case of a 36-year old male patient presenting with extraosseous retropharyngeal space chordoma with no bone involvement anywhere in the entire skeleton.

Retropharyngeal space abscess due to spread of odontogenic infection: two cases report

Odontogenic infections are a normally locally confined, self-limiting process that is easily treated by antibiotic therapy and local surgical treatment. However, it may spread into the surrounding tissues through a perforation of the bone, and into contiguous fascial spaces or planes like the primary or secondary fascial spaces. If the infection extends widely, it may spread into the lateral pharyngeal and retropharyngeal space. The retropharyngeal space is located posterior to the pharynx. If an odontogenic infection spreads into this space, severe life-threatening complications will occur, such as airway obstruction, mediastinitis, pericarditis, pleurisy, pulmonary abscess, aspiration pneumonia and hematogenous dissemination to the distant organs. The mortality rate of mediastinitis ranges from 35% to 50%. Therefore, a rapid evaluation and treatment are essential for treating retropharyngeal space abscesses and preventing severe complications. Recently, we encountered two cases of a retropharyngeal space abscess due to the spread of an odontogenic infection. In all patients, early diagnosis was performed by computed tomography scanning and a physical examination. All patients were treated successfully by extensive surgical and antibiotic therapy.

Retropharyngeal Growth of a Diffuse Goiter / 대한내분비외과학회지

When there is a large goiter, it usually grows downward to the lower anterior neck it rarely grows upward to the retropharyngeal space. We report a 73-year-old woman with a palpable neck mass that was shown to be a diffuse goiter extending into the retropharyngeal space. The mass was well-demonstrated on CT scan.

A Clinical Review on Four Cases of the Retropharyngeal Hematoma / 대한이비인후과학회지

Retropharyngeal hematomas are relatively rare. But, they are clinically important because of the close proximity of the retropharyngeal space to the upper airway. The authors experienced four cases of the retropharyngeal hematoma following cervical trauma, esophageal foreign body, stellate ganglion block, and discuss the diagnosis and treatment of individual condition.