2023 Volume 44 Issue 1 Pages 116-120
We report two cases of hamartomas developed in infants. First patient was a 3-year-old girl. She had occasional wheezing since around one month of birth and presented to our hospital. The endoscopy revealed a 15 mm-sized mass with a smooth surface on the left side of the tongue roof. Since she had no wheezing and the patient was feeding well when we first examined her, we followed up until she was three years old and performed complete resection of the mass. The mass had a stalk at the base of the left tongue and was histopathologically diagnosed as a hamartoma. The other patient, the 4-year-old girl, presented to our hospital with nasal obstruction and snoring since around one year of age. A red mass with smooth surface was observed on the fiberscope from the left posterior nostril to the nasopharynx, and its base was located at the posterior end of the nasal septum. Complete resection of the mass was made by nasal endoscopic surgery. The mass was 20 mm in size and histopathologically diagnosed as respiratory epithelial adenomatous hamartoma (REAH). Hamartoma is defined as a tumor-like malformation composed of a disordered mixture of mature tissues indigenous to the region. It can develop at any site in the body, but few hamartomas occur in the oral area. When hamartomas occur in infants’ nasopharynx, infants present with dyspnea due to upper airway obstruction. REAH is hamartoma occurring in the nasal sinuses and pharynx, a new disease concept proposed in 1995. Although REAH was previously considered as a rare entity, reports on REAH have increased in recent years. REAH typically arises in the third to ninth decades of life, and a pediatric case such as the second case is extremely rare.
