False-positive positron-emission tomography-CT of a Teflon granuloma in the parapharyngeal space occurring after treatment for a patulous eustachian tube

A novel technique for patulous Eustachian tube augmentation

OBJECTIVE

To determine the effectiveness of a soft-tissue bulking agent comparing novel approaches of Eustachian tube (ET) augmentation procedures: transpalatinatal Eustachian tube augmentation in local and general anesthesia versus an augmentation with velotraction under general anesthesia. The clinical endpoint was the resolution of symptoms related to unilateral patulous Eustachian tube dysfunction (PETD) requiring no additional revision augmentations.

STUDY DESIGN

Combined retrospective clinical chart review.

SETTING

Tertiary referral center.

METHODS

Patients suffering from PETD underwent one of the following procedures: Group (A) transpalatinatal soft-tissue bulking agent with infiltration/augmentation under local anesthesia in a sitting position, group (B) transpalatinatal soft-tissue bulking agent infiltration/augmentation under general anesthesia in the flat position or group (C) infiltration/transoral augmentation of the ET with velotraction under general anesthesia in a flat position. The requirement to repeat the procedure due to recurrence of any PETD-related symptoms was recorded and retrospectively analyzed.

RESULTS

A total of 50 procedures were executed in 50 patients with unilateral PETD. The necessity to perform a second procedure has analyzed a mean of 6 months postoperatively (range: 6-17 months). Compared to the transpalatinatal augmentation in local anesthesia (group A) (100% success rate), the 6-month failure rate was significantly higher for transpalatinatal augmentation under general anesthesia (group B) (80% success rate) and velotraction augmentation under general anesthesia (group C) (67% success rate). Patient cohort with transpalatinatal augmentation under general anesthesia required 20% and augmentation with velotraction under general anesthesia in 33% revision augmentation procedures reviewed at 6 months follow-up (mean follow-up 11.2 months).

CONCLUSIONS

Although all different approaches resulted in a reduction of PETD related symptoms, the transpalatinatal ET augmentation in local anesthesia achieved a statistically significant superior clinical improvement. A complete resolution of PETD related symptoms was obtained and required additional procedures. This improvement may be related to the intraoperative "feedback" by the patients in local anesthesia in the sitting position eliminating the necessity for repeated procedures.

[The patulous Eustachian tube syndrome: the current state-of-the-art and an original clinical observation. Second communication]

The choice of the treatment strategy for the patients presenting with the patulous Eustachian tube syndrome constitutes a serious challenge for an otorhinolaryngologist. Despite the considerable progress achieved during the past years in the development of modern pharmacotherapy and functional endoscopic surgery, the specialists often encounter difficulties in the management of the patients suffering from this disease. The present article (continuing the previous communication) contains information concerning the historical and modern approaches to the treatment of the patients with the patulous Eustachian tube syndrome. The authors describe the conservative and surgical methods employed for the treatment of this condition and the approaches to the choice of the treatment strategies depending on the etiology, pathogenesis, and severity of the disorder being considered, its duration, and the character of the morphological changes identified during the diagnostic procedures. The authors emphasize the importance of the wait-and-see strategy for the treatment of the patients presenting with the patulous Eustachian tube syndrome. In conclusion, they present the concrete results of four original observations of such patients.

Treatment of the patulous Eustachian tube with soft-tissue bulking agent injections

OBJECTIVE

A patulous Eustachian tube ([ET] tuba aperta) may cause symptoms as autophony, breath synchronous tinnitus, pressure sensation, and conductive hearing loss and thus lead to an enormous cutback in quality of life. In combination with "sniffing," it can trigger the development of cholesteatoma. Because of the ambiguous symptoms, the diagnosis can be challenging. A patulous ET can only be diagnosed through a well-structured examination, including patient history, physical examination with thorough observation of the movements of the tympanic membrane, and tympanometry with reflex-decay.

STUDY DESIGN AND METHODS

Transnasal endoscopic injection of injectable soft-tissue bulking agent into the torus tubarius was performed in 20 patients as a new treatment option for patulous ET. All patients were followed up 6 weeks and 6 and 12 months after treatment. For each intervention, 0.8 to 2 mL of injectable soft-tissue bulking agent was used.

RESULTS

In nine patients, more than one procedure was necessary. On follow-up, 10 out of 15 patients were satisfied with the result. Only three out of 15 patients reported no improvement of their symptoms. The procedure was minimally invasive, fast, and easy to perform.

CONCLUSION

There is no gold standard for the therapy of patulous ET. The injection of soft-tissue bulking agent in the torus tubarius is a new minimally invasive therapeutic approach, but much more clinical experience is needed.

[The patulous eustachian tube-novel surgical approaches]

A patulous eustachian tube (tuba aperta) may lead to an enormous reduction in quality of life. A patulous eustachian tube can cause symptoms such as autophony, breath synchronous tinnitus, pressure sensation in the ear, and hearing loss. In combination with so-called "sniffing", it can trigger the development of cholesteatoma. Due to the diffuse symptoms the correct diagnosis of this disease can be challenging. A patulous eustachian tube can be best diagnosed through a well-structured examination including patient history, physical examination with thorough observation of movements of the tympanic membrane, and tympanometry with reflex decay. This publication reviews recent literature on the patulous eustachian tube. We focused on the evaluation of the different surgical strategies such as the patulous eustachian tube reconstruction, the Kobayashi plug or the injection of Vox® implants into the torus tubarius.

When should we recommend use of dual time-point and delayed time-point imaging techniques in FDG PET?

FDG PET and PET/CT are now widely used in oncological imaging for tumor characterization, staging, restaging, and response evaluation. However, numerous benign etiologies may cause increased FDG uptake indistinguishable from that of malignancy. Multiple studies have shown that dual time-point imaging (DTPI) of FDG PET may be helpful in differentiating malignancy from benign processes. However, exceptions exist, and some studies have demonstrated significant overlap of FDG uptake patterns between benign and malignant lesions on delayed time-point images. In this review, we summarize our experience and opinions on the value of DTPI and delayed time-point imaging in oncology, with a review of the relevant literature. We believe that the major value of DTPI and delayed time-point imaging is the increased sensitivity due to continued clearance of background activity and continued FDG accumulation in malignant lesions, if the same diagnostic criteria (as in the initial standard single time-point imaging) are used. The specificity of DTPI and delayed time-point imaging depends on multiple factors, including the prevalence of malignancies, the patient population, and the cut-off values (either SUV or retention index) used to define a malignancy. Thus, DTPI and delayed time-point imaging would be more useful if performed for evaluation of lesions in regions with significant background activity clearance over time (such as the liver, the spleen, the mediastinum), and if used in the evaluation of the extent of tumor involvement rather than in the characterization of the nature of any specific lesion. Acute infectious and non-infectious inflammatory lesions remain as the major culprit for diminished diagnostic performance of these approaches (especially in tuberculosis-endemic regions). Tumor heterogeneity may also contribute to inconsistent performance of DTPI. The authors believe that selective use of DTPI and delayed time-point imaging will improve diagnostic accuracy and interpretation confidence in FDG PET imaging.

Primary tumors and tumor-like lesions of the eustachian tube: a systematic review of an emerging entity

Eustachian tube (ET) primary tumors and tumor-like lesions are rare diseases presenting with common ear, nose and throat symptoms. Pathology can range from developmental anomalies to high malignant neoplasms. Hence this review aimed at suggesting a classification and outline relevant aspects of ET primary tumors and tumor-like lesions, describing clinical findings, diagnostic management and therapeutic approaches. MEDLINE, CINAHL, OVIDSP, HIGHWIRE, and GOOGLE databases were searched from inception to July 2011 for relevant studies. Further papers were identified by examining the reference lists of all included. Sixty-five papers met the inclusion criteria, enclosing 78 cases. Case reports are increasing in the past few years. Benign lesions and tumor-like lesions of ET have been reported. Moreover, melanomas, carcinomas, and sarcomas can affect the ET as a primary site.

Radiologic appearance of chronic parapharyngeal Teflon granuloma

Although Teflon has been used for almost 5 decades to provide tissue augmentation in various surgical indications, including head and neck surgery, its use has significantly declined in the last 2 decades, primarily because of its implication in granuloma formation. Teflon granulomas have been shown to cause false positives on positron emission tomography imaging and have been reported to have a characteristic magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) appearance. We report a patient with a large chronic Teflon granuloma of the parapharyngeal space that caused significant bony erosion of the atlas vertebra. The lesion's MRI signal characteristics were indistinguishable from those of surrounding tissues, while it showed characteristic hyperdensity on computed tomography due to the presence of fluorine atoms within Teflon. As MRI may supersede or replace computed tomography for a number of indications, and as Teflon has been used in large numbers of patients whose records may not always be available, knowledge of these findings has clinical relevance.