2025 Volume 76 Issue 1 Pages 1-6
A 51-year-old man was referred to our department after experiencing hoarseness for approximately three months. At the initial visit, an endoscopic examination revealed a smooth-surfaced, yellowish mass on the left false vocal cord, but laryngeal stroboscopy showed no abnormalities in vocal cord vibration. Imaging studies also revealed a mass lesion in the same area. The patient underwent laryngeal tumor resection under general anesthesia using a direct laryngoscope, and pathological examination led to a diagnosis of ectopic salivary gland tissue in the larynx. Ectopic salivary glands have been reported to occur in various regions of the neck; however, only 12 cases of laryngeal ectopic salivary glands have been reported in the literature to date. Upon reviewing these 12 cases, we found that ectopic salivary glands were more common in middle-aged and older men and tended to occur on one side of a false vocal cord. Although ectopic salivary glands in the larynx are a rare condition, they should be considered in the differential diagnosis when a smooth-surfaced mass lesion is observed on one side of a false vocal cord.
