Search

We present a case of life-threatening necrotising fasciitis of the neck with acute pharyngeal perforation following a parapharyngeal abscess caused by tonsillitis. The joint occurrence of cervical necrotising fasciitis and acute pharyngeal perforation has not been previously reported. A new way of reconstructing the pharyngeal defect using an islanded submental perforator flap is presented.

One of the well known complications of radical neck dissection is a chylous fistula, which results from injury to the thoracic duct as it enters the left subclavian vein. Such fistulae may cause considerable increased morbidity to a patient who is already debilitated by malignancy and by the increased catabolic response to surgery. Further surgery may be appropriate for those with a high fistula output but conservative therapy is normally advocated for the remainder. Nutritional and electrolyte support for these patients is essential and poses potential problems in management. We present three such patients. One was fed parenterally and two enterally and in all cases the fistulae closed spontaneously. We examine the known physiological stimuli to chyle production and conclude that the enteral feedings of these patients with fat or an isomolar enteral feed does not, contrary to current belief, increase chyle flow or delay the healing of these fistulae.

The case of a 57-year-old male with a large and rapidly growing mass in the retropharyngeal space is presented. Whilst this lesion had many of the features of malignancy, histopathological examination has shown it to be due to Hashimoto's thyroiditis, which appears to have developed in ectopic thyroid remnants. A rapid and sustained resolution of the mass has followed conventional therapy.