2003 Volume 15 Issue 2 Pages 132-135
A rare case of paraganglioma of the larynx is presented. A 41-year-old man had complained of a severe sore throat. At another clinic, a fiberscopic examination revealed a tumor on the vestibular fold. The tumor was resected by laryngeal microsurgery. The pathological diagnosis of the tumor was paraganglioma. One year later, he complained of a severe sore throat again and visited our clinic. Fiberscopic examination revealed a tumor extending from the left arytenoid to the vestibular fold. Enhanced CT imagery showed a mass on the left arytenoid. An excisional biopsy was performed via laryngeal microsurgery. The pathological diagnosis was paraganglioma. The patient underwent thyrotomy (laryngofissure) and resection of the tumor after tracheostomy. The resulting pathological report indicated the presence of paraganglion cells. For the management of laryngeal paraganglioma, it is difficult to pathologically distinguish between benign and malignant cells by appearance. Malignant cases tends to have severe sore throats. A clinically severe sore throat and local recurrence suggest malignant paraganglioma; therefore, long term observation for local recurrence and metastasis is required. The patient in our study has been well for the last year without any evidence of recurrence or metastasis. If a patient complains of a severe sore throat that appears to be incompatible with local findings, we must consider the possibility of laryngeal paraganglioma as a diagnosis.
