Endoscopic and fluoroscopic-guided closure of the eustachian tube using a biliary cytology brush and liquid embolic agent for a persistent CSF leak after schwannoma resection

Vestibular schwannoma is a known cause of progressive sensorineural hearing loss. Treatment options include observation, radiation therapy and surgical resection. Cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) fistula is a known postsurgical complication that can lead to CSF otorrhoea, rhinorrhoea or CSF leakage from the surgical wound. We present a case report of a patient who underwent vestibular schwannoma resection and postoperatively developed CSF rhinorrhoea, which was refractory to multiple attempts at surgical repair. This was successfully treated under endoscopic and fluoroscopic guidance using a biliary cytology brush to disrupt the surface of the eustachian tube followed by injection of n-Butyl cyanoacrylate.

Isolated Liver Hilar Infiltration by IgG4 Inflammation Mimicking Cholangiocarcinoma

IgG4-related disease represents a heterogeneous group of disease characterized by infiltration of various tissues by IgG4 plasmocytes. In case of liver infiltration, this condition classically mimics primary sclerosing cholangitis or multifocal cholangiocarcinoma due to inflammation that preferentially affects the intra- and extrahepatic bile duct. Diagnostic criteria have recently been reviewed in order to better define the disease and help physicians make the diagnosis. Herein, we present the case of a patient who died after liver surgery for suspected cholangiocarcinoma that finally turned out to be IgG4-associated liver disease, a condition being out of current consensual criteria. The patient presented with progressive cholestasis identified by MR cholangiography as an isolated hilar mass responsible for dilatation of the left and right intrahepatic bile duct suspicious for a Klatskin tumor. The IgG4 blood level was normal as was biliary cytology. The patient underwent right portal embolization followed by right extended hepatectomy. Pathologic examination found no tumor but intense fibrosclerotic infiltration with a marked inflammatory infiltrate characterized by IgG4-positive plasmocytes. Despite immunosuppressive treatment, cholestasis was never controlled and successive biopsies of the remaining liver showed progressive cholestasis, liver infiltrate and no bile duct regeneration. The patient finally presented an upper gastrointestinal hemorrhage leading to death 4 months after hepatectomy and appropriate immunosuppressive therapy.