Large Vallecula Lipoma: An unusual clinical entity

Abstract

Lipoma of the oropharynx is an extremely rare entity with less than ten cases reported in so far. We present the case of a 55-year-old gentleman who was referred to our team for an incidental finding of an oropharyngeal mass. Although he did not have stridor despite the mass occupying almost 80% of his oropharynx, he did complain of progressive voice change, feeling of something in the throat and dysphagia over a period of 2 years. The mass was successfully excised endoscopically without the need for a tracheostomy. Airway issues, management options of an oropharyngeal mass, as well as the applied embryology of these lesions are discussed.

Large Vallecula Epiglottica Lipoma: A Rare but Fatal Cause of Dysphagia

“…This feature was seen in our patients as well. On the other hand, MRI is more sensitive and accurate in evaluating soft tissue lesions [14], together with appraising the submucosa region and perineural invasion if a more sinister disease is suspected [12]. However, due to its benign appearance and characteristic seen in CECT, our patient did not proceed with MRI.…”

“…Therefore, an experienced anesthesiologist and otorhinolaryngologist are needed to facilitate and ease the procedures to reduce fatal complications such as total upper airway obstruction by a large vallecula mass. Besides endotracheal intubation using a direct visualization with a C-MAC video laryngoscope, as in our patient, other techniques using awake flexible fiberoptic intubation [14][15] also have been proposed.…”