Abstract
The patient was a 55-year-old male. He had a submucosal tumor of the left hypopharynx. The tumor had compressed the larynx, making it difficult to observe the vocal cords using a laryngeal fiberscope. After tracheotomy, biopsy was performed under general anesthesia, and a diagnosis of schwannoma was made. Although it was a benign tumor, we decided to remove it because it might cause airway constriction and dysphagia in the future. A modified thyrotomy approach was used to remove the tumor. Schwannomas in the head and neck region are often found in the parapharyngeal space or around the carotid sheath, and rarely in the hypopharynx. Since the tumor is benign and it is important to preserve voice and swallowing functions when removing it, the modified thyrotomy approach is useful for relatively large tumors that are close to the vocal cords, as in this case.
