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Dural metastasis at medulla oblongata: a rare cause of vocal fold paralysis

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  29 June 2007

Martin Wai Pak ,
Henry Ka Fung Mak ,
Peter Ka Ming Ku  and
Charles Andrew van HasseltS
Martin Wai Pak
Affiliation:
Division of Otorhinolaryngology, Department of Surgery, Prince of Wales Hospital, Hong Kong.
Henry Ka Fung Mak
Affiliation:
Department of Diagnostic Radiology, Queen Mary Hospital, Hong Kong.
Peter Ka Ming Ku
Affiliation:
Division of Otorhinolaryngology, Department of Surgery, Prince of Wales Hospital, Hong Kong.
Charles Andrew van HasseltS*
Affiliation:
Division of Otorhinolaryngology, Department of Surgery, Prince of Wales Hospital, Hong Kong.
*
Address for correspondence: Professor C. A. van Hasselt, Division of Otorhinolaryngology, Department of Surgery, Prince of Wales Hospital, New Territories, Hong Kong. Fax: (852) 2646 6312
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Abstract

Malignancy is a major cause of vocal fold paralysis. Nevertheless, metastatic disease at the brainstem leading to high vagal paralysis is rarely encountered. We illustrate an unusual case of unilateral vocal fold paralysis caused by dural metastasis directly compressing on the nucleus ambiguus. The median position of the paralysed vocal fold is inconsistent with the Wagner and Grossman theory predicting the location of the lesion.

Keywords

Vocal fold paralysisBrainstemMagnetic resonance imaging
Type
Clinical Records
Information
The Journal of Laryngology & Otology , Volume 110 , Issue 9 , September 1996 , pp. 884 - 886
Copyright
Copyright © JLO (1984) Limited 1996

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