Laryngopyocoele presenting with acute airway obstruction

A 66-year-old woman was transferred to the emergency department with a left-sided neck lump and fever. She was stridulous with reduced consciousness level and required immediate intubation to protect her airway. CT imaging showed a fluid-filled and air-filled lesion in the left side of the neck; the diagnosis was later confirmed as an infected laryngocoele. She underwent ultrasound guided drainage of the lesion with successful reduction of the neck lump. Following elective tracheostomy she was weaned from ventilation. Subsequent direct endoscopy and biopsy showed no evidence of malignancy or other lesion. She was discharged with permanent tracheostomy to be sustained until definitive surgical resection of the laryngocoele.