Guttenplan M D, Hendrix R A, Townsend M J, Balsara G
Department of Otorhinolaryngology and Human Communication, Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia 19104.
Ann Otol Rhinol Laryngol. 1991 Nov;100(11):899-902. doi: 10.1177/000348949110001108.
Gout is a disorder of purine metabolism characterized by hyperuricemia with rare involvement of the head and neck. We present a 72-year-old woman with a known history of gout who presented with hoarseness and a lesion suspicious for carcinoma of the larynx. Endoscopic biopsy revealed a tophus of the true vocal cord with characteristic birefringent crystalline deposits and giant cell granuloma. There have been limited reports of gouty involvement of the larynx, more commonly involving cricoarytenoid arthritis. Tophi of the laryngeal soft tissues are exceedingly rare. In this paper we will discuss the pathophysiology and management of this interesting clinical entity.
