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We present a rare case of tracheostomy for removal of laryngeal foreign bodies consisting of three connected fish vertebral bones in a 15-month-old girl. Recent endoscopic techniques have made it possible to extract nearly all tracheobronchial foreign bodies with rigid bronchoscopes. However, the three connected foreign bodies in this report could not be extracted entirely by single endoscopy because the glottis as an exit was narrow due to severe oedema. Accordingly, tracheostomy was required to assist ventilation, prevent prolonged post-operative endotracheal intubation, remove the secondary tracheal foreign bodies and to provide a conduit for the introduction of a bronchoscope. This suggests that tracheostomy should be considered to avoid the potential dangers of severe laryngeal oedema and to secure the route for removal of foreign bodies from the trachea when treating patients with multiple laryngeal foreign bodies and laryngeal oedema. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Endoscopic treatment of hypervascular lesions of the hypopharynx is challenging because of difficulty in controlling bleeding during surgery. We report a highly vascular hypopharyngeal solitary fibrous tumour treated by endoscopic laser surgery combined with ligating loops. Application of dual ligating loops provided easy and secure haemostasis of the feeding artery before resection. Since the endoscopic approach is less invasive than the external approach, we confirm that it is worthwhile to attempt an endoscopic approach using ligating loops before resorting to the external approach in the treatment of hypervascular hypopharyngeal lesions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose of this study was to report the first case (to our knowlege) of primary laryngeal aspergillosis in a patient with underlying CD4(+) T lymphocytopenia. Laryngeal involvement of Aspergillus is more commonly seen as a part of a wider infection involving the respiratory system in an immunocompromised host. However, primary infection of the larynx is extremely rare. Although there were 12 cases of primary laryngeal aspergillosis previously reported in healthy subjects, there is no known study describing immunological findings in detail. We report a case of primary laryngeal aspergillosis in a healthy 79-year-old male. The examination of his immunity subsequently revealed that there was a marked decline in the number of CD4(+) T lymphocytes and a decrease in the ratio of CD4(+) to CD8(+). It is suggested that it is essential to examine the defence mechanisms, specifically cell-mediated immunity in a patient showing primary laryngeal aspergillosis.

Sarcoidosis affects many different organ systems. However, laryngeal involvement is rare and most cases with laryngeal involvement affect the supraglottis, occasionally secondarily extending to the vocal fold. The features of sarcoidosis in the supraglottic region have been described in several reports, but vocal fold involvement has not been presented in detail. We report an unusual case of laryngeal sarcoidosis initially involving the vocal folds in a 66-year-old man, associated with hypercalcaemia. Our report describes characteristics of the involved vocal folds. Hypercalcaemia is one of the characteristics of sarcoidosis. We concluded that laryngeal sarcoidosis should be added to the differential diagnosis of vocal fold lesions, particularly in patients with hypercalcaemia.