Beware bleeding from the ear.
We present the case of a 55-year-old man who presented with intermittent, profuse bleeding from the ear five years following radiotherapy for a nasopharyngeal carcinoma. He had developed osteoradionecrosis of the temporal bone, and the bleeding was shown to originate from an aneurysm of the internal carotid artery within his temporal bone. This has not previously been reported as a complication of radiotherapy for nasopharyngeal cancer.
Department of Surgery, Prince of Wales Hospital, Shatin, New Territories, Hong Kong.
D G
DG
John
M J
MJ
Porter
C A
CA
van Hasselt
D000783:Aneurysm / Q000209:etiology; D002340:Carotid Artery Diseases / Q000209:etiology; D002343:Carotid Artery, Internal; D004427:Ear Diseases / Q000209:etiology*; D006470:Hemorrhage / Q000209:etiology*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009303:Nasopharyngeal Neoplasms / Q000532:radiotherapy; D010025:Osteoradionecrosis / Q000150:complications* / Q000209:etiology; D013701:Temporal Bone / Q000528:radiation effects*