Unilateral vocal fold paralysis (UVFP) is a frequent finding in otorhinolaryngology practice, but its occurrence as a port complication was very rarely described in English Literature. The authors report a 55-year-old woman with a pancreatic adenocarcinoma who presented a left vocal fold paralysis that occurred concurrently with a venous thrombosis of the left subclavian vein, where a totally implantable venous-access had been previously placed. Although the patient’s oncologic disease, that could mislead to a neoplastic cause of the UVFP, the authors came across with an unusual etiology and to their best knowledge, it is the first case of irreversible UVFP associated with onsite thrombosis of the vessel where a port was implanted. The objective of this article is to present and discuss this rare case of UVFP secondary to a port complication and to review the main mechanisms of iatrogenic vocal fold paralysis related to these devices.

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Introduction. Although uncommon from a population-based perspective, there is considerable morbidity and mortality associated with malignant tumors of the nose and paranasal sinuses.The objective of this study was to characterize the presentation, risk factors, management and survival of patients with these tumors treated at a single institution.Materials and methods. We retrospectively reviewed the clinical records of patients with malignancies of the nose and paranasal sinuses diagnosed between January 2010 and December 2014 at a tertiary cancer center. Univariate and multivariate analysis were performed.Results. Ninety patients were included in the study. Mean age at diagnosis was 62.8 years (range, 2–95 years) and mean follow-up was 44.5 months (range, 2–113 months). The maxillary sinus (33.3 %) and the nasal cavity (32.2 %) were the most frequent sites of origin. Squamous cell carcinoma (36.7 %), mucosal melanoma (15.6 %) and adenoid cystic carcinoma (10 %) were the most common histologic subtypes. Surgery was the primary treatment for 86.7 % of patients. Recurrence occurred in 45 patients (50 %). The overall 5‑year survival was 39.3 % and disease free-survival was 45.9 %. Survival was significantly decreased in non-smokers (p = 0.022), T3–4 tumors (p = 0.007), positive lymph nodes (p <0.001), nonepithelial tumors (p = 0.036) and positive margins (p = 0.032). Survival was not affected by surgical approach between endoscopic, open and combined approaches (p = 0.088).Conclusion. Prognosis is poor, with high recurrences and low survival, but clearly histology, location and stage-dependent. Sound oncologic principles, with complete resections and negative margins, result in a better outcome.