An uncommon case of dyspnea with unilateral laryngeal paralysis in acromegaly

• DOI: 10.1016/j.anl.2015.06.001
• Publication Date: 2015-07-04T19:32:46Z
• Authors: Justine Lerat; Marie Lacoste; Jean-Marc Prechoux; Karine Aubry; Sylvie Nadalon; Kim Heang Ly; Jean-Pierre Bessede
• Keywords: Laryngeal paralysis; Vocal Cord Paralysis; Thyroid cartilage

A 61-year-old man with obstructive sleep apnea syndrome and normal BMI complained of dyspnea. Nasofibroscopy revealed a global and major oedema of the glottis and supraglottis and also a paralysis of the left vocal fold. CT-scan pointed out a spontaneous hyperdensity of the left arytenoid cartilage. A tracheostomy was performed. Clinical examination revealed large hands and macroglossy with high IGF1 rate. MRI confirmed a supracentimetric pituitary adenoma. To our knowledge, this is the first description of a case of acute respiratory distress due to unilateral larynx paralysis leading to acromegaly diagnosis. This is due to submucosal hypertrophy and vocal cord immobility.