Coblation debulking of a paediatric laryngeal plexiform neurofibroma: a pragmatic response to a rare tumour

Abstract

Laryngeal neurofibroma is a rare but important differential diagnosis in a patient presenting with stridor. In paediatric patients, these lesions present a management conundrum: complete surgical resection is the established treatment of choice, but an aggressive approach can be detrimental to developing anatomy. We report the case of a plexiform neurofibroma affecting the right hemilarynx of a 3-year-old boy. Endoscopy revealed a large tumour, involving the right aryepiglottic fold and extending into the piriform sinus, ventricle and the false cord. Given the patient’s young age and the challenging tumour location, the lesion was debulked, rather than resected, using coblation (low-temperature plasma radiofrequency ablation). At 30 months follow-up, the neurofibroma has mildly increased in size—in line with expectations that these lesions exhibit slow growth throughout childhood—but there are no significant respiratory symptoms and there is no functional impairment.