Radical neck dissection is one of the commonest procedures performed in any unit dealing with head and neck surgery. Intracranial complications following this procedure are uncommon. Transverse sinus thrombosis and venous infarction of the brain following unilateral radical neck dissection have not been reported in the literature. We present a case in which this complication occurred following an uneventful radical neck dissection.

Aspergillus sp. sinusitis is not uncommon in immunocompromised patients but is unusual in patients who are not immunocompromised. The disease may occur as a saprophytic condition, as an allergic sinusitis or as a potentially lethal invasive disease. The differentiation between non-invasive and invasive Aspergillus sp. sinusitis is crucial and this distinction is fully discussed. The treatment options are also considered. Invasive disease requires aggressive treatment with long-term antifungal agents in sufficient doses combined with wide surgical excision.

We present a patient who presented with invasive Aspergillus fumigatus sinusitis and subsequently developed cranial neuropathies and skull base osteitis. She was initially treated with oral itraconazole (400 mg daily) for 18 months but due to lack of response this was changed to a new experimental oral azole (voriconazole) which was continued for a further 14 months. She has since remained well for the last five years.

Most necrotizing (malignant) external otitis (NEO) occurs in diabetic patients and is commonly caused by Pseudomonas aeruginosa. We report an acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) patient with NEO caused by Aspergillus fumigatus in which computed tomography (CT) showed destructive petrous bone involvement and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) of the ear discovered extensive soft tissue and facial nerve involvement. Dedicated MRI studies of the ear in this type of pathology provide new insights relating to nerve dysfunction, that cannot be obtained with CT.

The lymphoid tissues of Waldeyer's ring, including the nasopharynx, are very rare sites for Hodgkin's disease and are considered to be relatively resistant to it. This report of a case of Hodgkin's disease of the post-nasal space demonstrates the difficulty of making the diagnosis histologically and the characteristic immunohistochemical features of this disease.

Before immunohistochemistry became so widely available, some authors speculated it might be underdiagnosed (Eavey and Goodman, 1982; O'Reilly and Kershaw, 1987). Judging by its continued rarity, this appears not to be the case.

Malignant oncocytomas are extremely rare tumours of the salivary glands. Fewer than 50 cases have been reported in the world literature so far, 34 of which were located in the parotid gland. Only three of these tumours have been located in the submandibular gland. We report one further case of a malignant oncocytoma of the submandibular gland in a 47-year-old man. Since a definite histological diagnosis of malignant oncocytoma can rarely be made both clinical and histopathological findings are essential in establishing the diagnosis. Treatment consists of wide surgical excision, neck dissection and post-operative radiotherapy. The prognosis with regard to five-year survival is poor becauseof metastatic disease.