Sleep apnea due to Kimura's disease of the larynx. Report of a case.

Kimura's disease is a benign chronic granulomatous disease which presents as a subcutaneous swelling in the head and neck area. The histopathological feature consists of granuloma-forming lymphoid follicles with eosinophil infiltration. Kimura's disease of the larynx is very rare, and only a few cases have been reported. We report a 14-year-old boy who presented with sleep apnea. Laryngological study revealed a submucosal swelling of the bilateral false vocal cord. Histopathological examination showed lymphoid hyperplasia with marked infiltration of eosinophils, which was diagnosed as Kimura's disease. After laser surgery, he had recurrent swelling of the false cord. The patient was given 30 mg of prednisolone, which was gradually tapered. The laryngeal swelling resolved, and the sleep apnea immediately improved after the treatment. However, a low dose of prednisolone was necessary to maintain the remission. Oral administration of pranlukast successfully supported the tapering of prednisolone. Copyright 2003 S. Karger AG, Basel