Chondrosarcoma of the maxilla.

A woman in her 70s reported to the outpatient department of our tertiary care hospital with chief complaints of painless swelling in the right cheek and palatal area. The patient was a known case of diabetes mellitus and hypertension on medications with controlled sugars and blood pressure. The swelling was 10×8 cm in size extending from right infraorbital region up to the lower mandible. CT demonstrated a permeative lytic pattern of bone destruction noted involving the hard palate and maxillary bone.Using the Weber Ferguson approach, a surgical resection was carried out under general anaesthesia. Resection included from right total maxillectomy (excluding roof of maxilla), nasal septum up to left medial maxillectomy including hard palate and the tumour was resected en bloc. The palatal obturator was fixed. On the basis of histopathology, grade 1 well-differentiated chondrosarcoma was diagnosed. The patient received postoperative radiotherapy and had a good recovery.

Shoulder Dysfunction Post Spinal Accessory Nerve Preserving Neck Dissections: Our Experience.

Apart from complete surgical clearance of the malignancy, reducing morbidity and improving quality of life of the patient is also considered. One of the morbidities linked with neck dissections is shoulder dysfunction. The aim of our study is to analyse the functional outcomes in patients operated for various neck dissections with preservation of the Spinal accessory nerve. A single centre prospective observational study was conducted in a total of 45 patients with oral cancers. These patients underwent Wide local excision of the primary tumour along with neck dissection. Tests for assessing spinal accessory nerve function was elicited in all these patients preoperatively and postoperatively. Patients were examined for shoulder pain and shoulder disability using Arm abduction test. All 45 patients underwent spinal accessory nerve preserving neck dissection. On post operative day 10, 89% of patients showed arm abduction test score of 1 and 47% of patients had a pain score of 6 whereas 13% had a pain score of 8. After 6 months of rehabilitation and regular follow up, 62% of the patients had improved arm abduction test score of 4 and above and all 45 patients had pain score improved to score of 4 and less. Variable amount of shoulder dysfunction is seen even in spinal accessory nerve preserving neck dissections. But active rehabilitation and regular follow up of these patients reduces the morbidity associated with shoulder syndrome.

Olfactory and Taste Dysfunction in Indian Population with COVID-19: A Study on 300 Patients.

The novel coronavirus disease 2019 is an ongoing pandemic and a global health emergency. Since the main portal of entry for the virus is the nose, olfactory and taste dysfunction have gained attention as important symptoms in COVID-19. The primary objectives are to assess the prevalence of olfactory and taste dysfunction in patients affected with COVID-19. And to determine whether anosmia and ageusia are early predictors of COVID-19. A prospective study was conducted on 300 patients who were laboratory diagnosed cases of COVID-19 admitted in tertiary care centre and a covid care centre. A written informed consent was taken. All patients underwent olfactory and taste examination and the details were noted in a case-record proforma. The prevalence of olfactory dysfunction in COVID-19 patients was 21% and that of taste dysfunction was 26.6%. Majority of the affected individuals were males and mainly of the younger age group. These symptoms lasted for a duration of 7-9 days and 97% of the patients showed complete recovery. Acute sudden onset olfactory and taste dysfunction seems to be a useful indicator for early diagnosis of patients thus helping in early isolation, timely management of the illness and controlling the spread of the disease.

Role of bronchoscopy and imaging in long-standing foreign body bronchus presenting as recurrent or non-resolving lower respiratory tract infection.

INTRODUCTION: A long-standing retained foreign body in the bronchus is unusual. In majority of cases, an adequate history is not obtained, the clinical picture is usually clouded by superadded pathological changes. CASE SERIES: We report three cases of long-standing foreign body in the airway who presented with recurrent lower respiratory tract infection. Examination of respiratory system revealed no significant abnormality. Chest radiograph was normal. CT scan of the chest was useful to indicate endobronchial opacity in the airway suggestive of a foreign body. The patients underwent rigid bronchoscopy under general anesthesia for successful removal of the foreign body. CONCLUSION: So the patients with non-resolving or recurrent lower respiratory symptoms in spite of medical treatment and without any obstructive findings must undergo diagnostic bronchoscopy evaluation and imaging.

Tracheal Bronchus: An Unusual Cause of Recurrent Lower Respiratory Tract Infection.

A 14-month-old male child presented with a history of recurrent pneumonia of the right upper lobe of the lung. Computed tomography scan showed an accessory bronchus proximal to the carina on the right side with collapse consolidation of the lobe.