Abstract
Pharyngeal hemangioma is a comparatively rare tumor. Surgical removal, sclerotherapy and laser therapy are representative of the treatment modalities generally employed. We report a case of large pharyngeal hemangioma extending from the nasopharynx to the oropharynx.
The patient was a 19-year-old male complaining of hematemesis. We diagnosed large pharyngeal hemangioma and performed sclerotherapy using 5% monoethanolamine oleate under general anesthesia. Alter the sclerotherapy, the tumor decreased in volume immediately. However, one year later, the tumor increased its volume to that before the sclerotherapy. As an alternative therapy, we carried out laser therapy using KTP and YAG laser under general anesthesia. The tumor shrank immediately and has shown no tendency to increase its volume during the three years since laser therapy.
Although both therapies decreased the volume of hemangioma similarly, the effect of sclerothrapy did not even last for one year. As the effect of laser therapy lasted for more than three years, it is likely that laser therapy was more useful than sclerotherapy in this case.
