Hideo Tomisawa

Two cases of Aspergillus sinusitis with bone destruction.

We experienced the clinical courses of two cases of destructive Aspergillus in paranasal sinuses in which an Aspergillus fungus ball was formed, and which caused bony destruction are described. The case in which a nidus could not be completely surgically removed and with intervening diabetes had an unfavorable prognosis. It is recommend to perform an early expanded operation as well as to administer a sufficient amount of antifungal drugs for the treatment of destructive Aspergillus in paranasal sinuses.

A case of an inverted tooth in the nasal cavity

We report a case of an inverted tooth in the nasal cavity. The patient was a 27-year-old man who attended our hospital in May 1998, complaining of left cheek-pain. There was nothing remarkable in his medical or family history. Fiberscopic (intranasal) and radiological examinations revealed a white foreign body in the left nasal cavity, within 2 cm of the left nostril. This foreign body was diagnosed as an inverted tooth. It was removed under general anesthesia and found to be 17 mm in length. Although the tooth showed a single root, it possessed two cusps and we deduced it to be a molar.

A case of relapsing polychondritis involving placement of an expandable metallic stent

Relapsing polychondritis is a relatively uncommon disease characterized by recurrence of progressive inflammation of cartilaginous structures. Laryngotracheal involvement occurs in 50-70% of cases, and occasionally results in acute airway obstruction. We reported a case of relapsing polychondritis with severe tracheal stenosis that was treated by the placement of two expandable metallic stents. A 58-year-old man was hospitalized with fever and breathing difficulties. A tracheostomy was performed and a silicone T-tube was placed. A diagnosis of relapsing polychondritis was made based on the biopsy from auricular and tracheal cartilages. Two expandable metallic stents were placed in the trachea to bilateral main bronchus. This dilated the airway lumen and resulted in the dyspnea disappearing completely. However, 18 months later a sudden massive hemorrhage occurred through the tracheostoma, and he died of respiratory failure. Autopsy showed a tracheoinnominate artery fistula. We discuss the management of relapsing polychondritis with severe tracheal stenosis.

Head Shaking Nystagmus in the Patient with Idiopathic Unilateral Peripheral Facial Palsy.

A case of idiopathic unilateral peripheral facial palsy showing unique findings and time course of the head shaking nystagmus was reported.A 15 year-old woman complained of right facial paralysis. She was admitted to our hospital for treatment using a drip infusion of steroids. Three days after onset of the paralysis, she complained of vertigo. At that time she showed no spontaneous or positional nystagmus but manifested right beating nystagmus 5 seconds after the cessation of head shaking stimulation. Six days after onset of the vertigo, right beating nystagmus was also observed but it appeared 40 seconds after the cessation of head shaking. It is assumed that she showed only the 2nd phase of head shaking nystagmus without the 1st phase because of the long latency period. She showed a mild increase in complement fixing antibody titer to the varicella-zoster virus.The head shaking test is well known to be quite sensitive in the detection of unilateral vestibular disorders. Since the 1st phase of head shaking nystagmus is due to velocity storage, any process that interferes with velocity storage can alter the pattern of nystagmus. When velocity storage is very poor, the 1st phase of head shaking nystagmus may be brief or absent. Thus, it is assumed that the patient in the present report had a lesion in the central vestibular system, presumably in the velocity storage mechanism due to varicella-zoster virus infection.