Abstract
A case of a 50-year-old man complaining of swelling in the right submandibular region was reported. Laryngoscopic examination revealed a swelling of the right false cord. Cervical X-ray and MRI examinations showed an air-filled mass from the right submandibular to paralaryngeal regions, which was removed surgically by a lateral neck approach. In a microscopic examination, the cyst was found to be lined with the pseudostratified ciliated epithelium similar to that in the upper respiratory tracts, and was diagnosed as laryngocele.
It was known that laryngocele is derived from enlargement of the laryngeal saccule located in the laryngeal ventricle. It is also known that the incidence of laryngocele in Japan is very rare compared to that in Europe and the USA. To clarify the reasons for the difference in incidence of laryngocele, measurements of thirteen laryngeal saccules were performed in thirteen surgical specimens of total laryngectomized cases here in our department. Although the incidence and location of laryngeal saccule were similar to those of the Caucasian cases recorded, the length of saccule was found to be shorter. From the results, the difference in shape of laryngeal saccule, especially the length, could be one of the reasons for the difference in incidence of laryngocele between Japanese and non-Japanese investigated.
