Total pharyngo-supraglottic separation following blunt neck trauma: a case report.

Blunt laryngeal trauma is a rare, potentially life-threatening event. A man suffered total pharyngosupraglottic separation following accidental strangling, when a long cloth hanging around his neck was tracked into a threshing machine. Difficulty maintaining the airway was the primary challenge since the laryngotracheal complex had collapsed into the mediastinum.

Dysphagia after total laryngectomy resulting from hypocalcemia: case report.

Although hypocalcemia is a common postoperative complication of patients who have undergone a total laryngectomy with total thyroidectomy for treatment of laryngeal cancer or cancer of adjacent organs and hypocalcemia can produce the symptom of dysphagia, there has never been a report that hypocalcemia is the cause of dysphagia in these patients. The authors reported two cases who had hypocalcemia after total laryngectomy with total thyroidectomy and presented with sudden and severe dysphagia. However, the symptom of dysphagia was dramatically improved after calcium replacement therapy.

Ludwig's angina: a clinical review.

Ludwig's angina is caused by a rapidly expanding cellulitis of the floor of the mouth and is characterized by a brawny induration of the floor and suprahyoid region (bilaterally), with an elevation of the tongue potentially obstructing the airway. In the pre-antibiotic era, Ludwig's angina was frequently fatal; however, antibiotics and aggressive surgical intervention have significantly reduced mortality. We reviewed nine patients with Ludwig's angina between July 1996 and June 2002, all of whom presented with fever, neck swelling, bilateral submandibular swelling and elevation of the tongue.