Unexpected radiation laryngeal necrosis after carbon ion therapy using conventional dose fractionation for laryngeal cancer

Airway Management During Anesthetic Induction of Secondary Laryngectomy for Recurrent Laryngeal Cancer: Three Cases of Report and Analysis

Surgery for laryngeal cancer and the following recurrent tumor growth may further change the anatomy of the airway. Airway management during anesthesia induction is challenging for the patients undergoing secondary surgery due to recurrence of laryngeal cancer or its postoperative complication, but it has never been reported. In this report, we described three cases of anesthetic induction which had different process of airway events. The first case was given intravenous general anesthetic for induction and experienced failed intubation, difficult mask ventilation and emergent tracheostomy, eventually were rescued successfully. The second case presented a fixed metastatic mass about 6 cm diameter upon the primary surgical scar of incision and preoperative apnea, underwent fibroscopy-guided conscious intubation and the process was uneventful. The third case had erythema and swelling under the mandible with erupted ulcer as well as neck immobility due to recurrent tumor. The anesthesiologist attempted fibroscopy-guided intubation via nasal passage with a tracheal tube in 2.8 mm diameter but it was failed. Subsequently, tracheostomy was performed under bilateral superficial cervical plexus block and the dissected larynx by operation verified distorted structure of glottis with S-shaped stenosis. This report concludes that, during the anesthetic induction for this special type of surgery, a detailed and comprehensive evaluation of the airway, and a routine fibroscopic examination are especially important.

Treatment outcome of ion beam therapy in eight patients with head and neck cancers

Ion beam therapy has enabled us to treat formerly untreatable malignant tumors. The aim of the present study was to investigate the long-term follow-up course of patients with head and neck cancers who received ion beam therapy. The subjects were 8 patients (3 men and 5 women aged 43-78 years) with head and neck cancers who visited our department from 2006 to 2015 and received ion beam therapy. Six patients received carbon ion beam therapy, and the other two patients received proton beam therapy. The medical records of the patients were retrospectively analyzed. The primary site was the nasal and paranasal sinuses in six cases, nasopharynx in one case, and external auditory canal in one case. The histological type was olfactory neuroblastoma, malignant melanoma, and adenoid cystic carcinoma in two cases each, and chondrosarcoma and squamous cell carcinoma in one case each. The exposure dose ranged from 64 to 70.4 GyE. The average follow-up period was 42.0 months. Early adverse events were generally mild, and complete therapeutic response was obtained in all cases. However, five patients developed severe late complications including craniospinal dissemination, osteoradionecrosis of the maxilla and skull base, brain necrosis, and loss of eyesight. Three patients died of distant metastasis, local recurrence and/or brain necrosis within 2 years, and four patients have been surviving with distant metastasis or severe late complications. Ion beam therapy exhibits outstanding antitumor effects, but the severe late complications of the therapy must also be recognized.