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Syringomyelia and bilateral vocal fold palsy

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  08 March 2006

C. Abraham-Igwe
Affiliation:
Department of Otolaryngology and Head and Neck Surgery, Birmingham City Hospital, Birmingham, UK.
I. Ahmad
Affiliation:
Department of Otolaryngology and Head and Neck Surgery, Birmingham City Hospital, Birmingham, UK.
J. O’Connell
Affiliation:
Department of Otolaryngology and Head and Neck Surgery, Birmingham City Hospital, Birmingham, UK.
S. V. Chavda
Affiliation:
Department of Radiology, Birmingham City Hospital, Birmingham, UK.

Abstract

This is a case of a 35-year-old who had complained of noisy breathing for 15 years, and had been on treatment for ‘chronic asthma’. She presented to the Accident and Emergency department with an acute episode of difficulty with breathing, and on admission was found to have stridor and bilateral abductor vocal fold palsy. Further workup revealed a syringomyelia with an associated Chiari type 1 malformation. It is important to consider the above diagnosis in the differential of young adults with breathing difficulties. A discussion of syringomyelia, Chiai malformations and bilateral vocal fold palsy follows.

Type
Research Article
Copyright
© Royal Society of Medicine Press Limited 2002

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