Diagnostic contribution of virtual endoscopy in diseases of the upper airways.
OBJECTIVE
Virtual endoscopy (VE) is a new diagnostic tool that generates 3-dimensional (3D) views of a lumen by exploiting cross-sectional images. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the usefulness of VE as a diagnostic tool in the diseases of the larynx and pharynx.


METHODS
Twenty-two patients with a mean age of 57 years were included in the study. The patients underwent larynx examination, optical endoscopy (OE), and computed tomography (CT) of the larynx. Later, VE was produced from the CT images.


RESULTS
Eight patients had larynx carcinoma, a 5-year-old patient had a laryngeal web, a 43-year-old man had fish bone stuck in his submucosal layer, 10 patients were normal, and the remaining two patients were under follow-up for treated nasopharynx carcinoma and had no evidence for recurrence. VE showed the laryngeal tumor in seven patients and the laryngeal web in one patient, but failed to show a plaquelike tumor and the fishbone within the submucosa.


CONCLUSIONS
Our findings suggest that VE is a useful and complimentary method of 3D imaging in the diseases compromising the laryngeal lumen. Furthermore, it may be superior to OE in severe stenosis or obstructions where the endoscope cannot be passed through.
Men
Süleyman
S
Department of Radiology, Dokuz Eylul University, Medical School, Inciralti Izmir, 35340, Turkey. suleyman.men@deu.edu.tr
Ecevit
M Cenk
MC
Topçu
I
I
Kabakçi
Neslihan
N
Erdağ
Taner K
TK
Sütay
Semih
S
D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000402:Airway Obstruction / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging; D002675:Child, Preschool; D003948:Diagnostic Techniques, Respiratory System; D004724:Endoscopy; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007822:Laryngeal Neoplasms / Q000175:diagnosis*; D007830:Larynx / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010614:Pharynx / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging; D012120:Respiration Disorders / Q000175:diagnosis*; D014057:Tomography, X-Ray Computed / Q000379:methods*