Hostname: page-component-cd9895bd7-8ctnn Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-12-29T05:46:21.766Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Laryngopyocoele: simple management of an acute airway crisis

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  28 April 2008

A T M Mace ,
S Ravichandran ,
G Dewar  and
G L Picozzi
A T M Mace*
Affiliation:
Department of Otolaryngology, Monklands Hospital, Airdrie, UK
S Ravichandran
Affiliation:
Department of Otolaryngology, Monklands Hospital, Airdrie, UK
G Dewar
Affiliation:
Department of Radiology, Monklands Hospital, Airdrie, UK
G L Picozzi
Affiliation:
Department of Otolaryngology, Monklands Hospital, Airdrie, UK
*
Address for correspondence: Mr A Mace, 124 Novar Drive, Hyndland, Glasgow G12 9SY, Scotland, UK. E-mail: alastairmace@btinternet.com
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

Objective:

We present the first reported case of ultrasound-guided aspiration of a laryngopyocoele in a patient with acute airway obstruction.

Case report:

A 71-year-old woman was diagnosed with a right-sided laryngocoele. Six weeks later, the patient was admitted as an emergency with a three-day history of increasing dyspnoea and stridor. Neck examination revealed a large, right-sided, soft neck mass, centred at level III, measuring approximately 10 × 5 cm. Fibre-optic laryngoscopy revealed a large, smooth, inflamed, right supraglottic mass obscuring the laryngeal inlet. The patient was taken directly to the radiology department, where ultrasound imaging confirmed a laryngopyocoele. Under ultrasound guidance, a 21-G needle was directed into the cyst and 30 ml of pus was aspirated. The dysphonia and stridor resolved immediately. Six weeks later, the patient underwent definitive surgical excision of the laryngocoele.

Conclusion:

Laryngopyocoele is a rare diagnosis. It can present as an acute airway emergency. We present the first reported case managed by ultrasound-guided aspiration, which averted the need for endotracheal intubation or tracheostomy.

Keywords

LarynxUltrasoundLaryngocele
Type
Clinical Records
Information
The Journal of Laryngology & Otology , Volume 123 , Issue 2 , February 2009 , pp. 248 - 249
Copyright
Copyright © JLO (1984) Limited 2008

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

1Stell, PM, Maran, AGD. Laryngocoele. J Laryngol Otol 1975;89:915–24CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
2Rashid, J, Warltier, B. Awake fibreoptic intubation for a rare cause of upper airway obstruction – an infected laryngocoele. Anaesthesia 1989;44:834–6CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
3Broyles, EN. Anatomical observations concerning the laryngeal appendix. Ann Otol Rhinol Laryngol 1959;68:461–70CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
4Canalis, RF, Maxwell, DS, Hemenway, WG. Laryngocoele – an updated review. J Otolaryngol 1977;6:191–9Google ScholarPubMed
5Canalis, RF. Observation on the simultaneous occurrence of laryngocoele and cancer. J Otolaryngol 1976;5:207–12Google ScholarPubMed
6Micheau, C, Lubinski, B, Lanchi, P, Cachin, Y. Relationship between laryngocoeles and laryngeal carcinomas. Laryngoscope 1978;88:680–8CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
7Scott, EC, Johnson, J, Curtin, H, Barnes, L. The association of laryngocoeles with squamous cell carcinoma of the larynx. Laryngoscope 1991;101:529–36Google Scholar
8Iversen, PB, Vesterhauge S. A fatal case of laryngopyocoele with cancer of the larynx. J Laryngol Otol 1978;92:163–7CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
9Sutay, S, Guneri, EA, Gunbay, MU. Spontaneous regression of a symptomatic laryngocoele. J Laryngol Otol 1994;108:60–2CrossRefGoogle Scholar