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Case Report
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| Giant macroglossia in head and neck cancer survivor: The unsolved issue |
| Esther Uña Cidón1 |
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1Professor, Department of Oncology of Clinical University Hospital C/ Ramon y Cajal s/n 47005 Valladolid Spain.
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doi:10.5348/ijcri-2011-12-73-CR-3
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Address correspondence to: Esther Uña Cidón Professor, Department of Oncology of Clinical University Hospital C/ Ramon y Cajal s/n 47005 Valladolid Spain Phone: 34678938050 Fax: 34983420078 Email: aunacid@hotmail.com |
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| How to cite this article: |
| Cidón EU. Giant macroglossia in head and neck cancer survivor: The unsolved issue. International Journal of Case Reports and Images 2011;2(12):11-14. |
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Abstract
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Introduction:
Most laryngeal cancers are squamous cell carcinomas. These tumors are often diagnosed in males over the age of 50, heavy smokers and drinkers. Thanks to the recent advances in multidisciplinary treatment overall survival has increased and thus the number of long-term survivors. Macroglossia may be secondary to head and neck cancer treatments occurring due to a blockage of the efferent lymphatic vessels and it is incurable. It seems to be an indolent complication, however, it can cause serious feeding difficulties, bleeding or ulcerations and subsequently infections with a reduction in quality of life and even survival.
Case Report: A 72-year-old man heavy smoker was diagnosed with undifferentiated laryngeal squamous cell carcinoma stage III (T2N2bM0). He underwent an oncological surgery followed by concurrent chemoradiation therapy. Thirteen months after the patient complained about a slowly progressive tongue swelling with eating and speaking difficulties and sialorrhea. An otolaryngological exploration did not show any lesion but a tongue thickening with a massive enlargement was noticed. He was treated with diuretics, steroids and cervical massages with a slight objective improvement. The patient's general condition deteriorated quickly due to a respiratory infection causing his death. Conclusion: Macroglossia secondary to lymphedema in patients with head and neck cancer warrants an intensified search for new treatment approaches, especially since survival of these patients has improved markedly. Complications secondary to this condition can be very relevant and sometimes can cause the patient's death. | |
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Key Words:
Macroglossia, Larynx eaucor, Facial lymphedema, Neck radiotherapy, Neck dissection.
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Author Contributions:
Esther Uña Cidón - Substantial contributions to conception and design, Acquisition of all data, Drafting the article, Revising it critically for important intellectual content, Collecting the photo, Final approval of the version to be published |
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Guarantor of submission:
The corresponding author is the guarantor of submission. |
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Source of support:
None |
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Conflict of interest:
Authors declare no conflict of interest. |
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Copyright:
© Esther Uña Cidón et al. 2011; This article is distributed under the terms of Creative Commons Attribution License which permits unrestricted use, distribution and reproduction in any means provided the original authors and original publisher are properly credited. (Please see www.ijcasereportsandimages.com /copyright-policy.php for more information.) |
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