Squamous carcinomas of the oro-pharynx are associated with a high incidence of distant metastases at post-mortem. A case of a massive distant metastasis from a squamous cell carcinoma of the tonsil is presented. This occurred despite excellent local control. The pathology and the possible management implications are discussed.

Toxoplasmosis is a protozoan infection manifested by systemic findings as well as generalized or localized lymphadenopathy. Although lympadenitis is the most common clinical form, involvement of the intraglandular nodes within the parotid gland found is a rare occurrence during the course of the disease.

This unusual form may mimic a parotid mass, and can cause difficulties in differential diagnosis. In this article, a case of intraglandular parotid lymphadenitis which developed due to toxoplasmosis is presented, and the relevant literature is reviewed.

Malignant fibrous histiocytomas of the upper respiratory tract are rare, aggressive mesenchymal neoplasms. We report a case of a glottic malignant fibrous histiocytoma of the larynx on a 54 year old man. Only a few have been reported in the English literature. The clinical behaviour and degree of malignancy of these tumours cannot be predicted. Wide, aggressive excision of the tumour with a margin of normal tissue appears to be the treatment of choice. About two years after total laryngectomy the patient is well and free of disease.

A case of cervico-mediastinal venous haemangioma with diffuse upper respiratory airway involvement is reported. The lesion was considered to be an ordinary supraglottic haemangioma at first. We recommend that adult cases of laryngeal haemangioma should be carefully examined for extra-laryngeal lesions.

Rhinocerebral mucormycosis is a rare but often fatal condition characterized by an aggressive necrotizing infection spreading from the nose to the paranasal sinuses, orbit and hence to the central nervous system. A case is reported in which a diabetic male with advanced mucormycosis was successfully treated by a combination of surgery, supportive therapy and liposomal amphotericin B. Liposomal delivery allows the drug to be both less toxic and more effective, and this is the first reported case of its use in rhinocerebral mucormycosis.

Carcinomas of the sebaceous glands of the skin are uncommon. These tumours metastasize frequently. A case of cutaneous sebaceous carcinoma localized in the postauricular region is presented with its exceptional large size and very poor prognosis.

Seventy four out of 94 cases of bronchoscopy carriedout over a five year period are reviewed. The clinical history of choking followed by recurrent spasmodic cough were found to be the most important element in making the diagnosis and proceeding to diagnostic and therapeutic bronchoscopy. Radiology was inferior as a diagnostic aid although radioactive scanning may be helpful in difficult cases.

Submandibular duct transposition is now a standard surgical procedure for the treatment of severe drooling. However, this is our first experience of a plunging ranula arising as a complication of the technique. In the surgical management of this complication, the single most important step is excision of the sublingual gland to prevent recurrence.

Only one case of primary malignant melanoma of the middle ear has been reported in the literature to date.

We report a case of middle ear and nasopharyngeal malignant melanoma where the primary is likely to have arisen in the middle ear and discuss the relevant literature.

Leiomyosarcoma of the larynx is extremely rare. A patient with respiratory obstruction due to such a tumour is presented. This was originally misdiagnosed as hysteria. The treatment of choice was an emergency laryngectomy.

A patient with neurofibromatosis two (NF2) presented with bilateral acoustic neuroma. Pre-operative audiometry revealed a dead right ear and severe left-sided sensorineural hearing loss. Following surgical removal of the larger right acoustic neuroma we have documented a sensorineural improvement of 45 dB in the contralateral ear on pure tone audiometry, which as far as the authors are aware has not previously been described.

A case of giant lateral cervical cystic metastasis from occult thyroid carcinoma mimicking branchial cleft cyst is reported.

Lateral cervical cystic metastases arising from occult thyroid carcinoma and their ultrasonic differentiation from true cysts are discussed.

Keratoacanthomas are lesions which rarely present to Otorhinolaryngologists; however they must be considered in the differential diagnosis of any rapidly growing lesion in the head and neck. We report a case of a keratoacanthoma of the nasal vestibule which caused clinical and histopathological difficulties in diagnosis. Keratoacanthomas and the treatment options are discussed.

Subglottic laryngeal cysts in the newborn are extremely rare. It is difficult to establish if the cyst is acquired or congenital because respiratory distress requires intubation in the I.C.U. generally without prior endoscopy. A case report is presented, followed by a discussion of possible aetiology and management protocol; the advantages of the CO2 laser make excision of the cysticsac possible without tracheotomy.

Haemophilia A is a sex-linked inherited disease in which those affected are usually males, and females are usually asymptomatic carriers. This paper presents a haemophilia A carrier who has a low factor VIII level first, to remind readers that females can have low factor VIII levels with consequent increased tendency to bleed; second, to stress the importance of routine questioning regarding a bleeding tendency in the patient or the patient's family and third, to illustrate the importance of pre-operative diagnosis to allow adequate correction of the defect so that surgery such as adenoidectomy can be undertaken with safety in such a patient.

Leiomyomas of the nose, nasopharynx and paranasal sinuses are rare. So far only two atypical leiomyomas at these sites have been reported in the English literature. A new case is presented and the literature on the subject is reviewed.

A case of Hodgkin's disease presenting as a second primary malignancy in a patient admitted eight years previously for total parotidectomy for an adenoid cystic carcinoma is reported.