Contrast nasopharyngography

Contrast nasopharyngography was performed in 25 cases of nasopharyngeal lesions, 15 of which were carcinoma, six malignant lymphoma, and four benign lesions including neurofibroma, haemangioma, angiofibroma and tuberculosis. Nasopharyngography was also performed in 22 cases with extranasopharyngeal lesions, including nine of head and neck malignant lymphoma and 13 of tumours originating in adjacent organs. To describe the extent and site of the tumour, the nasopharyngeal walls were labelled segment 1 to 15 on axial and lateral views. The lateral skull films were negative in five of eight small malignancies involving no more than five wall segments, and also negative in six of 10 cases of unilateral involvement. Small lesions involving the unilateral fossa of Rosenmueller and/or the superolateral wall were frequently undetected. Nasopharyngography is indicated in cases where clinical suspicions of a lesion remain after a normal straight film. When malignancies were treated with radiation therapy a pre-irradiation nasopharyngogram clearly depicted the site and extent of the disease, and a post-irradiation study showed a marked shrinkage of the tumour mass and/or markedly improved raggedness of the wall of the nasopharynx. Four benign lesions showed large space-occupying lesions. In the case of tuberculosis, for example, the nasopharyngeal cavity was totally obliterated by the granulomatous tissue. In nine cases of malignant lymphoma involving the neck nodes or the palatine tonsil, the nasopharyngogram was normal.