Corriols-Noval P, Morales-Angulo C

Language: Spanish
References: 0
Page: 25-32
PDF size: 177.58 Kb.

ABSTRACT

Objective: To know the skull base tumors that can cause isolated vocal cord palsy as initial sign.
Material and Method: A retrospective, observational, descriptive and cross-sectional study of clinical histories of all patients with a unilateral vocal cord palsy who presented to Hospital Universitario Marqués de Valdecilla, Santander, Spain, from January 1^st 2007 to January 31^st 2018, which cause was a tumor of skull base. We took into consideration the following variables: age, tumoral histology, diagnostic imaging test and treatment.
Results: A total of 3 cases were detected, with an age range of 39 to 75 years, jugulotympanic paraganglioma was the tumor diagnosed in all the patients. In all, computed tomography was the first diagnostic imaging test performed, followed by magnetic resonance. One of our patient was undergone to surgical treatment, another was undergone to radiosurgery and in the third one it was decided to follow up due to high anesthesia risk.
Conclusion: Although rarely, isolated vocal cord palsy could be a skull base tumor debut, being paraganglioma the most common neoplasm. Magnetic resonance should be chosen as the first-line imaging test, by its higher sensitivity to characterize soft tissue abnormalities along the vagal nerve tract and skull base.