C. Liew

Factors affecting swallow outcome following treatment for advanced oral and oropharyngeal malignancies

Treatment for tumors of the oral cavity and the oropharynx disrupts normal swallow function. The ability for oral diet postoperatively varies and may be influenced by surgery and patient‐related factors.

Case series: non vascular considerations in trigeminal neuralgia

An abnormal vascular course of the superior cerebellar artery is often cited as the cause for trigeminal neuralgia. However, among patients with TN-like symptoms, 6% to 16% are variously reported to have intracranial tumours. Aneurysms, tumours, or other lesions may impinge or irritate the trigeminal nerve along its course. Uncommonly, an area of demyelination from multiple sclerosis may be the precipitant. We would like to present a series of unusual lesions, all of which initially presented with neuralgic-like symptoms and were refractory to treatment. Collated case series with photographs and imaging are reviewed in this paper. Discussion of case presentation and management are done for evaluation. A wide range of other compressive lesions can cause trigeminal neuralgia. This paper illustrates the clinical presentation of atypical trigeminal neuralgia and emphasises the value of diagnostic imaging in trigeminal neuralgia patient. Suggested algorithm for management of trigeminal neuralgia

Head and neck sarcomas: A single institute series

BACKGROUND Sarcomas are tumours of mesenchymal origin, accounting for 1% of all malignancies. METHODS This is a retrospective analysis of 107 head and neck sarcoma cases, treated over a period of thirteen years. RESULTS Fifty-four patients had with craniofacial bone sarcomas (BSs) (male: 33; female: 21) with high grade osteosarcoma being the most predominant type. The soft tissue sarcomas (STS) (53 patients; male: 28, female: 25) were histologically diverse with rhabdomyosarcomas and myxofibrosarcomas being the predominant types. The majority of BSs were managed with neoadjuvant chemotherapy followed by surgery, whereas in STSs treatment included predominantly surgery followed by radiotherapy. Overall survival estimates were 79% at 2years and 64% at 5years (mean follow-up period was 48months). CONCLUSIONS The mesenchymal origin of sarcomas, the pattern of disease spread and the different extent of cancellous bone infiltration in contrast to epithelial tumours, dictate distinct principles for surgical clearance.