Rare Schwannomas of Head and Neck and Review of Literature

Speech therapy rehabilitation in Tapia´s syndrome: case report

“…[13][14][15] In cases where the tumors manifest together in regions such as the parotid, the functional impairment may involve alterations in the stomatognathic functions, such as speech, mastication, suction, in addition to alterations in facial expressiveness. 16 Such changes can compromise the individual's emotional and psychosocial aspects, which directly interfere with their quality of life. 16 Nervous injuries in this region can affect a single isolated nerve or cause paralysis of two nerves together, such as the recurrent laryngeal and hypoglossal nerves.…”

“…16 Such changes can compromise the individual's emotional and psychosocial aspects, which directly interfere with their quality of life. 16 Nervous injuries in this region can affect a single isolated nerve or cause paralysis of two nerves together, such as the recurrent laryngeal and hypoglossal nerves. 17 The vagus nerve (X pair) is mainly responsible for the sensorymotor actions of the larynx, pharynx and palate, including the cricopharyngeal muscle.…”

“…High lesions of the vagus nerve can generate not only paralysis of the ipsilateral vocal fold, but also loss of sensitivity in the hemilarynx. According to 12,16,17 recurrent laryngeal nerve injury may be responsible for pharyngoesophageal dysphagia in 11 out of 15 patients. Anatomically, we can observe that three to five branches of the recurrent laryngeal nerve innervate the pharyngoesophageal transition, in addition to the motor innervation of the cricopharyngeal muscle involved in the swallowing process 17,18 With regard to dysphonia, patients with paralysis caused by damage to the vagus nerve in its recurrent inferior laryngeal branch are characterized by having a hoarse, breathy, low-intensity voice, great vocal fatigue and the emission of short and choppy sentences.…”