X-ray treatment to the face and neck in infancy leading to multiple pathologies in later life: a case report

Therapeutic interventions are made in the best interests of the patient taking into account the risks and benefits believed to be true at the time. However, adverse effects associated with the treatment may only become apparent much later, sometimes long after the anticipated survival of the patient.

A lady in her late sixties presents with multiple pathologies of the head and neck that appear to be a direct consequence of irradiation performed as a young child when she was not expected to live for long. Some deformities resulted early after exposure, but most of the dozen pathologies in the affected area have evolved during the subsequent fifty years.

This case acts as a potent reminder to consider the long term effects of therapeutic ionising radiation, especially if there is a possibility of long term survival post treatment. It also demonstrates the effects of a single physical modality on multiple and wide ranging tissue types, highlighting a continuing need in medical education for the teaching of clinical anatomy and an understanding of histological pathology.