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Published on: January 17, 2018
Hypernasality--a rare initial symptom of a cerebellar astrocytoma
W Habermann1, K Kiesler, H J Dornbusch
1Department of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery, Auenbrugger Platz 20 8036, Graz, Austria. w_habermann@yahoo.com
Abstract:
Nasality is a disorder due to nasal resonance, which may be induced by a variety of etiologies. Transitional hypernasality is frequently seen in children after adenoidectomy. The alleged post-surgical hypernasality in the case presented was shown to be related to the late detection of an astrocytoma of the cerebellum and the brain stem in a 6-year-old boy. This case was characterized by increased hypernasality which failed speech therapy. A developing one-sided vocal fold palsy in combination with an ipsilateral soft-palate palsy indicated further investigation. Computerized tomography (CT) and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) revealed a brain stem-tumor with a maximum size of 6 cm involving parts of the cerebellum. These findings demonstrated the need for a strict follow-up, even after adenoidectomy, in the presence of hypernasality for identifying concurrent etiologies as well as cases suitable for speech therapy.
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