This paper reports a case of balloon Eustachian tuboplasty with delayed presentation of extensive surgical emphysema.

This is a clinical case report with a review of literature.

Eustachian tube dysfunction is a functional disorder that results in inadequate middle-ear ventilation, causing aural fullness and tinnitus. A 36-year-old male presented with the sudden onset of an isolated, painful, left-sided neck swelling. The patient underwent balloon Eustachian tuboplasty, which was uneventful, but subsequently developed a sudden onset of isolated left-sided neck swelling on the 5th post-operative day during Valsalva manoeuvre. Neck examination revealed extensive crepitus on the left side of the neck. Examination findings were confirmed by imaging. The patient was conservatively managed and subsequently discharged home.

Balloon Eustachian tuboplasty is a safe procedure; however, extra care must be taken to avoid possible complications. Patients should be counselled against Valsalva manoeuvre and heavy weightlifting. They also should be instructed to sneeze with an open mouth and consider the use of stool softeners.

Imaging the Eustachian tube has proven difficult as it has an anatomical orientation that is not aligned with standard planes. In addition, the Eustachian tube is a dynamic structure, opening briefly during a variety of physiological manoeuvres.

A 54-year-old healthy and asymptomatic man underwent computed tomography utilising an area detector scanner. Multiplanar reconstruction was performed at 1 mm intervals. In addition, dynamic clips were constructed to demonstrate air and its movement in the field. Images and video were acquired whilst a Valsalva manoeuvre was being performed.

Although imaging techniques have been able to visualise the Eustachian tube well in the closed state, it may be more useful to have it imaged whilst open. Area detector computed tomography scanners can be used to acquire four-dimensional images. This allows dynamic imaging of the region, to assist in the diagnosis of various types of Eustachian tube dysfunction.

Hyperpneumatisation of the skull base and upper cervical vertebrae is a very rare condition of uncertain aetiology and pathophysiology.

A case of extensive hyperpneumatisation of the craniocervical junction and upper three cervical vertebrae is described, in a patient who habitually performed the Valsalva manoeuvre to relieve the symptoms of a patulous eustachian tube. Reported symptoms of ear, neck and shoulder pain deteriorated after minor head trauma. There was a drastic radiological and clinical improvement after ceasing to perform the Valsalva manoeuvre.

All reported cases of craniocervical bone hyperpneumatisation have in common a history of raised middle-ear pressure, minor trauma or both. We therefore suggest that chronically raised middle-ear pressure leads to destruction of bony tissue and pneumatisation, and that this process is able to cross joints into the cervical spine, either via micro-fractures following trauma, or as a result of congenital assimilation of the craniocervical junction.

We aimed, in this study, to compare dispersion of the p wave in patients with type 1 diabetes to nondiabetic control subjects, and to investigate the relationship between the dispersion of the p wave and cardiac autonomic dysfunction in diabetic children.

We enrolled 49 patients with type 1 diabetes, and 32 age- and sex-matched healthy subjects, measuring the Valsalva ratio, resting heart rate, and orthostatic hypotension in all. The duration of the p wave was measured manually on a high-resolution computer screen. Dispersion, defined as the difference between maximum and minimum durations of the p waves, was also measured in the 12-lead electrocardiogram before and after the Valsalva maneuver.

The mean age of the patients and their controls were 14.2 ± 4.8 years, and 12.7 ± 4.5 years, respectively. The mean duration of diabetes had been 6.2 ± 4.6 years. Maximal and minimal values for the duration of the p wave were significantly decreased in the diabetic children, with the dispersion itself significantly increased. Values for the dispersion in the diabetic subjects were similar before and after the Valsalva maneuver, whereas dispersion was found significantly increased after this maneuver in the controls. The differences in the Valsalva ratio, resting heart rate, and orthostatic hypotension between the groups, on the other hand, were not found to be statistically significant.

The noted increase in the dispersion of the p wave in diabetic children reveals the onset of cardiac electrophysiological heterogeneity before it is possible to detect parasympathetic and sympathetic dysfunction with other tests.