A 51-year-old man was referred to our department after experiencing hoarseness for approximately three months. At the initial visit, an endoscopic examination revealed a smooth-surfaced, yellowish mass on the left false vocal cord, but laryngeal stroboscopy showed no abnormalities in vocal cord vibration. Imaging studies also revealed a mass lesion in the same area. The patient underwent laryngeal tumor resection under general anesthesia using a direct laryngoscope, and pathological examination led to a diagnosis of ectopic salivary gland tissue in the larynx. Ectopic salivary glands have been reported to occur in various regions of the neck; however, only 12 cases of laryngeal ectopic salivary glands have been reported in the literature to date. Upon reviewing these 12 cases, we found that ectopic salivary glands were more common in middle-aged and older men and tended to occur on one side of a false vocal cord. Although ectopic salivary glands in the larynx are a rare condition, they should be considered in the differential diagnosis when a smooth-surfaced mass lesion is observed on one side of a false vocal cord.

Bronchial leiomyoma is a rare benign tumor, often resected endoscopically in recent years. The patient was a 69-year-old woman. Chest X-ray performed during a physical examination showed an abnormality, and chest computed tomography revealed a tumor in the left lower lobe bronchus. Bronchoscopy revealed a mobile tumor obstructing the entrance of the left lower lobe bronchus. The tumor was diagnosed as leiomyoma by bronchoscopic biopsy, after which the patient was referred to our department. The tumor was resected in pieces with high-frequency cauterization using a combination of rigid bronchoscopy and flexible bronchoscopy under general anesthesia. The patient was discharged on the third postoperative day without any postoperative complications. The pathological diagnosis was leiomyoma. This case exemplifies how a leiomyoma obstructing the left lower lobe bronchus can be resected using a combination of rigid and flexible bronchoscopes.

Sputum cytology is a non-invasive and easy to perform screening method that can detect lung squamous cell carcinoma early. Although the detection sensitivity of sputum cytology in lung cancer cases is only 40%, it has been shown to be useful in detecting lung cancer in high-risk smokers and is therefore recommended. At the same time, because sputum cytology contains exfoliated cells from the upper respiratory tract, such as the oral cavity and pharynx, head and neck squamous cell carcinoma may be discovered. We report a case in which squamous cell carcinoma was detected by sputum cytology, but no lung cancer was found, and a diagnosis of nasopharyngeal squamous cell carcinoma was made after 8 years.

Arytenoid adduction is a technique in which the operative field is narrow and difficult to see except by the surgeon. We developed a new technique, video-assisted arytenoid adduction (VAAA), which uses a rigid endoscope for rhinosurgery and allows the surgeon to share the surgical field. VAAA is a general-purpose, inexpensive system that requires neither special equipment nor longer operating time than conventional AA. It is also considered to be a safer and more visible technique.