A multidisciplinary approach to an uncommon case of laryngeal leishmaniasis in Turkey.

genus Leishmania. A sandfly vector called Phlebotomus is the agent responsible for transmitting the pathogen to humans. The disease may be found in 1 of 3 forms, visceral leishmaniasis (VL), cutaneous leishmaniasis (CL) and mucocutaneous leishmaniasis (ML), depending mainly on the infecting species and the host immune response. Leishmaniasis is endemic in 88 countries, particularly localized in areas of the tropics, subtropics, and southern Europe1. In most of the ML cases, the nasal cavity is affected, but the localization of Leishmania spp in the laryngeal mucosa is unusual. Furthermore, laryngeal mucosa involvement can appear in patients with previous CL as well as being part of a widespread VL in immuno-supressed patients who suffer infections beyond the mononuclear phagocyte system. Here we report a rare case of treated laryngeal ML due to Leishmania infantum in an 81-yr old male patient resident of Adana, Turkey which is a subtropical area. The case was investigated with a multidisciplinary approach.