A rare case of Crohn's disease in head and neck surgery

Oral manifestations of Crohn's disease may present to the Otolaryngologist in the form of ulceration, glossitis and odynophagia, but rarer examples of presentation are also recognized. In this case a 24-year-old lady presented with cervical lymphadenopathy, the subsequent investigation of which resulted in the identification of the disease both in this node and in the tonsils. It is noted that these lesions may precede the classical intestinal manifestations and so the Otolaryngologist could aid in the initial diagnosis of the disease. The pathogenic possibilities of how Crohn's disease might have arisen in these and other extra-intestinal regions, are discussed.