Lung cancer presenting with unilateral facial pain: remission after laryngeal nerve palsy.
A 39-year-old woman presented with a 2-month history of intractable, left-sided facial pain. A CT scan of the thorax disclosed a large lung mass surrounding supra-aortic vessels and hilus. The symptoms underwent a rapid and spontaneous remission after laryngeal nerve palsy with dysphonia developed. Referred facial pain secondary to the compression of the vagus nerve can rarely be the first manifestation of an underlying lung cancer. All cases of unexplained unilateral facial pain should be investigated for a mediastinal pathology, especially in smoker subjects.
Palmieri
Antonio
A
Headache Unit, Service of Neurology, Hospital of San Donà de Piave, VE, Italy.
D000328:Adult; D005157:Facial Pain / Q000209:etiology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007823:Laryngeal Nerves / Q000503:physiopathology; D008175:Lung Neoplasms / Q000150:complications* / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging*; D009408:Nerve Compression Syndromes / Q000209:etiology; D012075:Remission, Spontaneous; D014057:Tomography, X-Ray Computed; D020421:Vagus Nerve Diseases / Q000209:etiology; D014826:Vocal Cord Paralysis / Q000209:etiology*