[Interests of the ultrasound-guidance in the treatment of drooling through botulinum toxin injections, our experience over 10 years]. / Intérêt de l'échoguidage dans le traitement du bavage par injections de toxine botulique, notre expérience sur 10 ans.

OBJECTIVES: To report about our 10 years' experience about the treatment of drooling by ultrasound guided botulinum toxin injections. MATERIAL AND METHODS: Retrospective monocentric study including all the patients suffering from drooling and treated by ultrasound-guided botulinum toxin injections into the salivary glands between 2004 and 2015. The etiology of r drooling, the doses of toxin, the injected glands, the size of the glands measured by ultrasonography, the effectiveness of the treatment and the side effects were assessed. RESULTS: Two hundred and ninety-two injections sessions were performed in 61 patients. Exactly 70.5 % of patients reported an improvement after the first session. Parkinson's disease was the main etiology of drooling (43 % of the patients). Eleven patients reported side effects. The salivary gland volume reduced after treatment in 46 % of the patients. DISCUSSION: The interest of ultrasound-guidance is to make sure about the intraglandular injection, to lower the risk for extraglandular diffusion of the toxin responsible for swallowing disorders and to allow for an adaptation of the doses to the volume of the salivary glands, which may vary during treatment.

[Compressive optic neuropathy related to an anterior clinoid mucocele]. / Neuropathie optique compressive liée à une mucocèle de l'apophyse clinoïde antérieure.

Nasal sinus mucoceles are an uncommon cause of painful optic neuropathy. We report the case of a patient presenting an acute compressive optic neuropathy related to an anterior clinoid mucocele. The diagnosis was mainly made with CT and MRI, and the patient was treated with endoscopic endonasal transseptal surgery 10 days after the beginning of the disorder. Visual recovery was complete 3 days later. We review the literature on the etiologies of this type of pathology, the work-up, and the possible treatments.

Supradiaphragmatic retrochiasmatic craniopharyngioma in an 80-year-old patient operated by extended endoscopic endonasal approach: case report.

BACKGROUND: The transsphenoidal approach is still the optimal procedure for intrasellar infradiaphragmatic craniopharyngiomas. It is also used by many to treat intrasellar tumors which have a suprasellar extension, especially when there is a cystic component. However, this approach is not routinely performed for supradiaphragmatic ones, which are mostly approached by a transcranial route, even if the related morbidity is higher. Endoscopic techniques now allow a better visualization and could permit a widening of indications for the transsphenoidal route to such tumors, especially in older patients. CASE REPORT: We used an extended endonasal endoscopic approach in a 80-year-old man who was diagnosed with a purely supradiaphragmatic craniopharyngioma. Preoperative rapid deterioration of visual function was the primary indication for surgery. Subtotal resection of the tumor was accomplished, as confirmed by intraoperative direct visualization and postoperative MRI. A rapid amelioration of visual function was noted postoperatively. CONCLUSION: Primary endoscopic endonasal surgery for supradiaphragmatic retrochiasmatic craniopharyngiomas in elderly patients could represent a safer approach associated with a lower operative morbidity when compared to transcranial surgery and better postoperative results when compared to conservative treatments currently used. More cases are needed to quantify the risk of CSF leakage, which is currently the main disadvantage of this procedure.

Myasthenia gravis mimicking unilateral vocal fold paralysis at presentation.

OBJECTIVES: To demonstrate the importance of detailed clinical analysis in the differential diagnosis of unilateral vocal fold paralysis, and to provide an update on current knowledge and treatment of myasthenia gravis. CASE REPORT: A female patient presented with left unilateral vocal fold immobility. Diagnostic investigation revealed a 10 mm thyroid adenoma, but no other abnormality likely to cause unilateral vocal fold paralysis. Follow-up flexible endoscopy at three months showed laryngeal remobilisation with persistent left vocal fold bowing and vertical asymmetry of the vocal folds on phonation. Over the following months, voice quality varied between normal and breathy, with the breathy periods lasting from three days to one month. Laryngeal electromyography (EMG) showed a slight bilateral paradoxical activation of both posterior crico-arytenoid muscles on phonation. Magnetic resonance imaging of the brain and brainstem was normal. A diagnostic test for myasthenia gravis with intravenous edrophonium bromide (Tensilon) lead to an immediate improvement in voice quality. The patient was subsequently treated with pyridostigmine bromide, with complete resolution of dysphonia. CONCLUSIONS: Myasthenia gravis affecting the larynx may mimic unilateral vocal fold paresis or paralysis. A personal or family history of auto-immune disease, fluctuating symptoms, motor deficits in cranial nerve territories, and normal or subnormal laryngeal EMG results should lead the physician to reconsider a diagnosis of idiopathic unilateral vocal fold paralysis and to perform specific testing.

[Laryngeal dystonia]. / La dystonie du larynx.

Laryngeal dystonia alters phonatory and respiratory functions in ways that may differ according to the various clinical forms. Spasmodic dysphonia, however, is the most usual clinical consequence; it is characterized either and most often by an raucous, strained, jerky voice and dotted by vocal short stops, or, more rarely, by a breathed, murmured hardly audible voice. Laryngeal dystonia may also express itself by a permanent inspiratory dyspnea witch will increase with effort. The authors describe the principal diagnostic data with are provided essentially by laryngeo-video-fibroscopy and laryngeal electromyography. Treatment of laryngeal dystonia by botulinium toxin is spectacularly efficient, with 66.7 to 100p.100 of good results in literature. Injection techniques are described as well as combined surgical treatments. In adductor spasmodic dysphonia and permanent inspiratory dyspnea, each thyro-arytenoids muscles are injected with 20 to 40 Dysport units or 5 to 10 Botox units, bilaterally; in abductor spasmodic dysphonia, we inject uni or bilaterally, 60 to 80 Dysport units or 15 to 20 Botox units in each posterior crico-arytenoïds muscles. Endoscopic or external laryngeal surgery is proposed to improve functional results when the effects of botulinium toxin injection are disappointing.

[Atelectasis of the maxillary sinus: report of a case of acute onset]. / Atélectasie du sinus maxillaire: à propos d'un cas d'installation aiguë.

INTRODUCTION: Maxillary sinus atelectasis is a rare pathology, characterized by a retraction of the maxillary sinus walls associated with tenacious mucus secretions filling the antrum. The disease usually develops in a chronic fashion, leading progressively to enophthalmos. This is sometimes associated with diplopia and midfacial depression. In these typical forms, maxillary sinus ventilation (via a middle meatal antrostomy) stops progression to retraction, but usually cannot reverse the phenomenon, resulting in a specific surgical procedure on the orbital floor or on the anterior wall of the sinus. MATERIALS & METHODS: We describe a case of maxillary sinus atelectasis with enophthalmos and midfacial depression, which appeared suddenly in one week, without nasal or sinus related symptoms. A middle meatal antrostomy performed rapidly enabled us to observe a reversal of the atelectatic process with recovery of the sinus volume, correction of the enophthalmos and disappearance of the associated diplopia, without the necessity for an additional surgical procedure. It is, to our knowledge, the first case described with such a rapid evolution.

[Fistula of the fourth branchial pouch: apropos of a case treated by endoscopic cauterization]. / Fistule de la quatrième fente branchiale: à propos d'un cas traité par cautérisation endoscopique.

Fistula of the fourth branchial pouch is a rare congenital cervical malformation. It typically affects child and occurs in the left side of the neck. Surgical removal of the entire fistulous tract through an external cervical approach is the treatment traditionally performed. We report a case of a right 4th branchial pouch in an adult managed through an endoscopic approach. Endoscopic cauterization of 4th branchial pouch may be considered as an attractive alternative procedure for the management of this congenital anomaly.

[Excessive tearing in infants and young children. Questions? Answers]. / Le larmoiement du petit enfant. Questions? Réponses...

Tearing in infants and young children is a subject of controversy. A logical succession of questions and answers is helpful in developing a consensual attitude.

Frequency of the DYT1 mutation in primary torsion dystonia without family history.

BACKGROUND: Idiopathic torsion dystonia is a clinically and genetically heterogeneous movement disorder. A GAG deletion at position 946 of the DYT1 gene was the first mutation found, in early-onset dystonia, with an autosomal dominant transmission and reduced penetrance. OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the frequency of the DYT1 mutation in patients with idiopathic torsion dystonia but without a family history. DESIGN: Prospective cohort study. SETTING: Four botulinum toxin clinics in the Paris, France, area. PATIENTS: A French population of 100 patients with dystonia. MAIN OUTCOME: Frequency of the DYT1 mutation tested by polymerase chain reaction and enzyme restriction analysis for the 946 GAG deletion, and genotype-to-phenotype correlation. RESULTS: Only 5 mutation carriers were identified, 4 of whom were part of a group of 10 patients with generalized dystonia. Onset was between ages 5 and 12 years as in typical early-onset dystonia. All 4 patients had cranial muscle involvement, which is atypical for DYT1 mutation carriers. One had segmental dystonia. Molecular analysis of relatives in 2 families demonstrated that the lack of family history was due to reduced penetrance. CONCLUSIONS: For accurate diagnosis and genetic counseling, screening for the DYT1 deletion is of great interest in cases with generalized dystonia without a family history. In other cases, positive results are rare.

Obliterative otosclerosis.

From January 1990 to December 1996, 293 primary stapedectomies for otosclerosis were performed, among which 14 had obliterative otosclerosis (4.7 per cent). Probability of bilateral obliterative disease was 50 per cent. With this particular condition, a drill-out procedure was used to perform either a stapedectomy or a stapedotomy. In two patients with bilateral 'far-advanced otosclerosis', surgery was effective in enabling the patient to benefit from hearing-aids. In patients with a measurable hearing-loss, an air-bone gap closure to within 10 dB was achieved in 62.5 per cent of the cases and to within 10-20 dB in 37.5 per cent of the cases, with no deterioration of air-conduction thresholds at 8 kHz. A mild sensorineural hearing loss at 4 kHz was observed in 25 per cent of the cases. There was no statistical difference between stapedectomy and stapedotomy. According to these results, the drill-out technique is a safe and effective procedure in cases of obliterative otosclerosis.

[Botulinum toxin in the treatment of frontoglabellar and periorbital wrinkles. An initial study]. / La toxine botulique dans le traitement des rides fronto-glabellaires et de la région orbitaire. Etude préliminaire.

Glabellar frown lines and crow's feet are wrinkles of facial expression related to an underlying muscular activity, which is particularly strong during facial expression. Classic treatments of these wrinkles only give partially satisfactory are associated with results, and secondary effects, whether they involve skin and muscle lifting, surgical section of muscles, dermal stimulation by thread or injectable fillers, chemical or mechanical abrasion, transient or permanent soft tissue augmentation with various materials. The authors studied the efficacy and safety of intramuscular injections botulinum A Exotoxin in glabellar and crow's feet areas in 19 well-informed and consenting patients. Botulinum toxin injections have been used since 1980 in the treatment of focal dystonia (blepharospasm, oromandibular dystonia, spasmodic torticollis, spasmodic dysphonia and writer's cramp) and safety hemifacial spasm. Their wide use in these indications has highlighted their excellent and efficacy, and the need to repeat injections every 3 to 4 months. The dose required was progressively adjusted around glabellar and orbital areas, while injections of the peri-buccal and forehead areas are still being evaluated. The 19 patients were examined clinically, filmed and photographed every month over a period of 12 to 24 months, and skin prints were performed. Evaluation criteria included the percentage improvement as assessed by the patients themselves, and also evaluation by the investigators of the data of clinical examination, and blind comparison of photographic, videoscopic, and prints. The authors obtained a significant decrease of wrinkles of the areas studied, with a "smoothing" effect during the period of activity of the toxin, which lased an average of 3 to 4 months at the beginning, and 6 to 9 months after several injections. No secondary effects, either general or local, were observed. The product's specificity means that the operator must have a complete mastery of the injection technique and a thorough knowledge of its pharmacology.

[Indications for botulinum toxin in laryngectomy]. / Indication de la toxine botulique en laryngologie.

The botulinum toxin is a highly potent neurotoxin, used since several years in the treatment of the focal musculary dystonias. We define the laryngeal dystonia as a clinical entity, which is represented by a spasmodic dysphonia or an inspiratory dyspnea without dysphonia, related to a specific dystonia of the thyroarytenoid muscles. The laryngeal functional exploration (i.e. fibroscopy, videostroboscopy, acoustic analysis, computerized voice analysis), the neurological and electrophysiological assessment allow to make diagnosis and evaluation of the therapeutical results of this rare laryngeal neurologic disease which was relatively misunderstood until now. There are several clinical types of spasmodic dysphonia: adductor form (with a jerky voice, pitch beaks, vocal arrests and pneumophonatory incoordination); abductor form (with a breathy voice of very low intensity) and mixed types which can be difficult to identify. Since 1989, we have treated 55 laryngeal dystonias with local intra-muscular botulinum toxin injection: 48 spasmodic dysphonia and 7 inspiratory dyspnea without dysphonia, with hyperactivity of the thyroaryténoïd muscles. We present our therapeutical protocol and results which are good in 87% of cases.

Stridor and focal laryngeal dystonia.

Fibreoptic laryngoscopy in 6 patients with laryngeal stridor showed immobile vocal cords in a paramedian position but no other local cause. Thus a diagnosis of Gerhardt's syndrome, usually ascribed to paralysis of vocal-cord abductor muscles, was made in 3 patients who had no other signs or symptoms of dystonia, and in 3 patients who had multifocal dystonia. Electromyography (EMG) showed evidence of overactivity of vocal-cord adductors, with no evidence of denervation in the abductor muscles. Botulinum toxin injection of the overactive thyroarytenoid muscles abolished stridor. These clinical and EMG findings indicate that Gerhardt's syndrome is not caused by paralysis of vocal-cord abductors, but represents a focal laryngeal dystonia which may be treatable by botulinum toxin injections of vocal-cord adductor muscles rather than by arytenoidopexy or tracheostomy.

[Spasmodic dysphonia. Investigation and therapeutic methods]. / Les dysphonies spasmodiques: méthodes d'investigation et de traitement.

We report the successful treatment of three patients with adduction spasmodic dysphonia by direct injection of botulinum toxin into the vocal cord(s). This was achieved under electromyographic control, and this and other otolaryngeal techniques were used to monitor treatment and study this often puzzling condition.

[Treatment of spasmodic dysphonia with botulinum toxin]. / Traitement de la dysphonie spasmodique par la toxine botulique.

Spasmodic dysphonia is a focal laryngeal dystonia, a rare form of dystonia. Videostroboscopy, acoustic analysis, computerized voice analysis and over all electrophysiological analysis allow for the study of the different muscles involved in this dysphonia. There are two types of spasmodic dysphonia: adductor spasmodic dysphonia and abductor spasmodic dysphonia. The most efficient therapy nowadays is the injection of botulinum toxin into the thyroarytenoid muscle under fiberoptic visualization. We report 6 patient's cases of spasmodic dysphonia that we have been treating for about 2 years by direct injection of botulinum toxin in the vocal cords.

[High frequency audiometry]. / Audiométrie "hautes fréquences".

The authors have performed a series of high frequency audiograms in order to assess its value in routine otological practice. Initially, they conducted a statistical study on subjects with so-called normal hearing in order to establish standardised normal values. As in the earlier studies, a physiological alteration was observed in the high frequencies which was progressively accentuated with age. Audiometric results should therefore always be considered in relation to the patient's age. A standard graph is proposed for the presentation of the results. The authors subsequently performed high frequency audiometry in patients with internal ear disorders. High frequency audiometry allowed early detection of an alteration in the internal ear, when conventional audiometry was normal. The authors believe that high frequency audiometry should be part of the otological assessment as its allows early detection of internal ear disease.