So-called Hairy Polyps or Teratoid Tumors of the Nasopharynx

Teratoma benigno de nasofaringe em adulto

“…The most frequent symptoms include nasal obstruction, dyspnea and difficulty to breastfeed, it may also cause difficulty to swallow and vomit. Intermittent symptoms such as cyanosis, nasal obstruction and dysphagia may also be present when the pedicle is long 1 .…”

“…It is of slow and progressive growth, pressing against adjacent structures without invading them 1 . Its diagnosis is usually prenatal or during early childhood, due to ultrasound findings or severe obstructive respiratory symptoms.…”

Pathological Case of the Month

“…3 They are to be distinguished from the more common, although still rare, teratomas that develop from embryonic tissue, are foreign to the area in which they occur, and contain all 3 primitive germ cell layers, and dermoid polyps or hairy polyps that are composed of ectoderm and mesoderm and are believed to be inclusion errors in the fusion of the lateral palatine processes. 2,4,5 These 3 rare malformations are most commonly seen in neonates. Most infants present with respiratory distress, difficulty feeding, or both.…”

Congenital teratoid tumour of nasopharynx with cleft palate

“…Teratoid tumours are not the true neoplasms but developmental anomalies in totipotential cells which proliferate, differentiate and form disorganised and disorderly conglomerates of various tissues (Choudhary et al 1978). Ewing (1940) recognised 4 different varieties of teratoids.…”