gms | German Medical Science

81st Annual Meeting of the German Society of Oto-Rhino-Laryngology, Head and Neck Surgery

German Society of Oto-Rhino-Laryngology, Head and Neck Surgery

12.05. - 16.05.2010, Wiesbaden

Cervical ankylosing spondylophytes causing obstructive apnoea, recurrent and phrenic nerve palsy

Meeting Abstract

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Deutsche Gesellschaft für Hals-Nasen-Ohren-Heilkunde, Kopf- und Hals-Chirurgie. 81. Jahresversammlung der Deutschen Gesellschaft für Hals-Nasen-Ohren-Heilkunde, Kopf- und Hals-Chirurgie. Wiesbaden, 12.-16.05.2010. Düsseldorf: German Medical Science GMS Publishing House; 2010. Doc10hnod057

doi: 10.3205/10hnod057, urn:nbn:de:0183-10hnod0578

Published: April 22, 2010

© 2010 Pazardzhikliev.
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Outline

Text

Excessive cervical osteophystosis is reported to cause upper aerodigestive tract problems by simple pharyngeal compression, laryngeal oedema or recurrent nerve palsy. We describe a patient presenting with stridor and obstructive apnoea. On physical examination retropharyngeal bulging abutting the epiglottis was found, however endoscopic examination revealed unilateral vocal cord paralysis and redundant hyperplasia of the arytenoid mucosa collapsing into the laryngeal airway on inspiration contributing to the stridor phenomenon. On chest x-ray a paralysis of the contralateral diaphragm was found. This is an unusual cause of a multi-level obstruction and nerve paralysis. Such concurrent findings have not been published.