Hostname: page-component-76fb5796d-5g6vh Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-04-25T22:31:45.368Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

An unusual cause of pre-auricular swelling

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  11 August 2009

A T Harris ,
I Bhatti ,
Y Bajaj  and
G J C Smelt
A T Harris*
Affiliation:
Department of Otolaryngology – Head and Neck Surgery, Calderdale and Huddersfield NHS Trust, UK
I Bhatti
Affiliation:
Department of Otolaryngology – Head and Neck Surgery, Calderdale and Huddersfield NHS Trust, UK
Y Bajaj
Affiliation:
Department of Otolaryngology – Head and Neck Surgery, Calderdale and Huddersfield NHS Trust, UK
G J C Smelt
Affiliation:
Department of Otolaryngology – Head and Neck Surgery, Calderdale and Huddersfield NHS Trust, UK
*
Address for correspondence: Mr A T Harris, Flat 9 Arncliffe House, 1 Arncliffe Road, West Park, Leeds LS16 5JE, UK. E-mail: andrew.harris@doctors.org.uk
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

Objective:

To present an interesting cause of pre-auricular swelling.

Case report:

We report the case of a 39-year-old woman who presented to the ENT department as an emergency with swelling in the left pre-auricular region. The patient had recently travelled to Central America, where the botfly is endemic. On examination, there was a raised, indurated area with a central orifice. A botfly larva was suspected. The larva was suffocated with paraffin paste, allowing removal without remnants being retained.

Conclusion:

Suffocation of botfly larvae is favoured to surgical removal, due to the possibility of larval remnants being retained and acting as a nidus for infection. The increasing frequency of exotic travel means doctors need to be more aware of tropical medicine.

Keywords

BotflyHead And NeckDermatobia Hominis
Type
Clinical Record
Information
The Journal of Laryngology & Otology , Volume 124 , Issue 3 , March 2010 , pp. 339 - 340
Copyright
Copyright © JLO (1984) Limited 2009

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

1Johnston, M, Dickinson, G.An unexpected surprise in a common boil. J Emerg Med 1996;14:779–81CrossRefGoogle Scholar
2Pallai, L, Hodge, J, Fishman, SJ, Millikan, LE, Phelps, RG.Case report: myiasis – the botfly boil. Am J Med Sci 1992;303:245–8CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
3Garvin, KW, Singh, V.Case report: cutaneous myiasis caused by Dermatobia hominis, the human botfly. Travel Med Infect Dis 2007;5:199–201CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed