CS gas (o-chlorobenzylidenemalononitrile) is one of the most commonly used riot agents. It can create excessive tearing, conjunctivitis, uncontrolled blinking (blepharospasm) and a sensation of burning and pain at initial exposure. Pulmonary edema (ARDS) and/or diffuse airway lesions on human would be lethal after CS inhalation. We report a case with acute laryngeal and bronchial obstruction due to vocal cord edema and extensive crusting at glottic level, trachea and bronchi. The CS gas was sprayed in a 6 x 6 m(2) closed room, and she was exposed to increased concentration of the gas for 10 s. Surprisingly, her initial symptoms were raised 21 days after CS spray exposure.

Relapsing polychondritis (RP) is characterized by chronic, recurrent episodes of inflammation with eventual degeneration of cartilaginous tissues including the ears, nose, larynx, trachea, and so on. Tracheobronchomalacia and airway stenosis may be seen in RP. In this report, we describe 3 female patients presenting with progressive dyspnea owing to laryngotracheal involvement of RP who underwent laryngotracheal reconstruction.

Both lingual tonsil and adenoid are the lymphoid tissue members of Waldeyer ring. Enlargement of the lingual tonsil and adenoid occurs in children with persistent obstructive sleep apnea despite previous tonsillectomy and adenoidectomy relatively frequently.In this article, we present a case with upper airway obstruction and infection findings because of excessive lingual tonsil and adenoid tissue hyperplasia and, additionally, bilateral multiple cervical lymphadenopathies. The patient had had tonsillectomy and adenoidectomy 8 years ago. Etiopathogenetic mechanisms, clinical, radiologic, histopathologic aspects, and surgical therapeutic options for obstructive sleep apnea related to excessive reactive lymphoid hyperplasia in children are discussed reviewing the literature.

Trichilemmal cyst (TC) is an adnexal skin tumor that usually occurs on the scalp. There is a female dominance in this tumor. Proliferating pilar tumors or cysts arise from this lesion, and the clinical differential diagnosis from TCs must be taken because of aggressive behavior of proliferating pilar tumor. Trichilemmal cyst usually occurs in hair-bearing areas such as the neck, trunk, groin, and others. In this article, we report a case with giant TC involving the neck region.

Tympanoplasty is a surgical procedure used for eradicating chronic middle ear infection and for reconstructing hearing in infected ears. Independent from the graft placing technique, the atrophy and the insufficiency of the graft material would be seen.For cases at high risk for failure, such as recurrent perforations, total perforations, and severely atelectatic tympanic membranes, many surgeons have used cartilage as a grafting material because of its increased stability and resistance to negative middle ear pressure. Various cartilage grafting techniques have been described, including the palisade, cartilage island, and cartilage shield.In our study, we investigated audiological and otological outcomes of tympanoplasty type 1 with composite cartilage island grafts. Between 2004 and 2008, 100 cases of composite cartilage island tympanoplasty were identified. A total of 74 patients were attended to in this study. Graft take was evaluated in all patients, and postoperative complications were noted. Hearing results were analyzed by comparing the preoperative and postoperative pure-tone average air-bone gap. Graft take was accomplished in 72 patients (97.29%). There was no graft lateralization or displacement in the middle ear. The mean postoperative pure-tone average air-bone gap improvement was 20.2 dB at 500 Hz, 23.58 dB at 1000 Hz, 22.23 dB at 2000 Hz, and 24.79 at 4000 Hz.Our study indicates that composite cartilage island tympanoplasty has a high degree of reliability and excellent hearing improvement especially in patients at high risk for graft failure.