Search

Immunoglobulin G4 related disease (IgG4-RD) is a systemic fibroinflammatory disease that can affect almost any organ. Only a few cases of IgG4-RD have been reported to present with cervical lymphadenopathy and none with neck abscesses. We report a case in a patient with bilateral neck mass and bilateral neck abscesses. The patient underwent bilateral neck incision for drainage of the abscesses on two occasions, followed by a neck dissection after a third recurrence. Immunohistochemistry of the specimen revealed IgG4-RD. Although surgery is not the recommended firstline approach for IgG4-RD, only a neck dissection enabled clinical resolution of the lesions in our patient.

carotid aneurysm

conference on head and neck cancer

Objectives: Define and compare the thermal nerve injury caused by 3 different vessel sealing and dissection devices: the harmonic scalpel (HS), the electrothermal bipolar vessel sealing system (EBVS), and the bipolar electrosurgery unit (BE). Methods: First we recorded the heating variations in pig tissue caused by a BE unit, HS, and EBVS after an activation for 5, 10, and 15 seconds at minimum and at maximum power. In the second part, we evaluated the histological damage caused by HS and EBVS on 20 in vivo human nerves, 10 per device. The 2 scalpels were placed and activated at 3 different distances from the nerve (1, 3, and 5 mm). The extension and the degree of the nerve lesion was then calculated. Results: The instrument determining the highest rise in temperature was the BE unit, followed by HS and then EBVS. Comparison between the extension and degree of nerve injury caused by the 2 scalpels showed no statistically significant differences. Based on these evaluations, we established a relative safety limit at 3 mm and an absolute safety limit at 5 mm for both scalpels. Conclusions: Our data suggest EBVS and HS can be considered valid and safe devices for ENT surgery.

Objective The aim of this prospective study was to evaluate the benefits and risks when using an Ultracision Harmonic Scalpel in the surgical treatment of oral and oropharyngeal carcinomas. Study design Prospective non-randomized. Setting Clinica Otorinolaringoiatrica, Azienda Ospedaliero-Universitaria. Trieste, Italy. Subjects and methods In this study, conducted from April 2008 to August 2010, 36 consecutive patients underwent resection of oral or oropharyngeal carcinoma and lateral lymphadenectomy using the Ultracision Harmonic Scalpel. Evaluation criteria included length of the surgical procedure, intraoperative blood loss, quantity of neck drainage on the first, second and third postoperative days, postoperative complications, and a subjective assessment of postoperative pain and lymphatic oedema of the neck. Results were compared with previous surgical procedures carried out between May 2006 and March 2008 using cold knife and bipolar haemostasis ( n = 36) when the Harmonic Scalpel was not available. Results In patients treated with the Harmonic Scalpel, operating time was significantly reduced, both for resection of the carcinoma and the lateral lymphadenectomy. Intraoperative blood loss and neck drainage on the first and second postoperative days were significantly less and pain scores were significantly lower than in the cold knife group. No postoperative complications were noted in the Harmonic Scalpel group. The only disadvantage noted in the Harmonic Scalpel group was the high incidence of lymphatic oedema of the neck. Conclusions Use of the Harmonic Scalpel during resection of oral cancer and lateral lymphadenectomy is safe and confers some advantages over conventional methods.