HNO
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Madelung's disease, also known as benign symmetrical lipomatosis, is a rare proliferative disorder of unknown etiology that was first mentioned by Brodie in 1846. Characterized by multiple symmetrical deposits of unencapsulated fat in the head and neck region, the disease is most common in middle-aged men with a history of alcohol abuse. The only effective therapy in cases of dyspnea and dysphagia, indicating the necessity of treatment, is the surgical resection of the adipose tissue. The authors report on the evaluation and therapy in a case of giant Madelung's disease.
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Diffuse idiopathic skeletal hyperostosis (DISH, Forestier disease) is in most cases a harmless, asymptomatic disease characterized by a massive, noninflammatory ossification with intensive formation of osteophytes affecting ligaments, tendons, and fasciae, especially of the spinal column. If the disease becomes symptomatic at all, the leading complaints will usually be dysphagia in the sense of a lump in the throat and difficulty in swallowing. However, in rare cases the osteophytes may influence the laryngeal function ranging from hoarseness and immobility of the vocal cord to life-threatening inspiratory stridor. Such laryngeal manifestations are almost unknown. ⋯ Uni- or bilateral immobility of the arytenoids, possibly associated with chronic inflammatory hyperplasia of the tissue of the arytenoids and the postcricoid region, may be a symptom of an unusual manifestation of DISH.