A Case Dyspnea Caused by Hypopharyngeal Hemangioma

We report the case of a 54-year-old man who showed dyspnea caused by a hypopharyngeal hemangioma. He had had a sense of respiratory distress on exertion and dysphagia since one month prior to visiting our clinic. The hypopharyngeal space was found to be filled with a tumor on fiberscopy, and a tracheostomy was performed on the day of his visit. A T2 -weighted high intensity area was recognized on MRI. A histological diagnosis could not be obtained by biopsy using an endoscope because of the latter's thick capsule. A lateral pharyngotomy was carried out and the tumor, 5.0×3.5×3.0 cm in size with its pedicle in the bilateral arytenoid and postcricoid region, was totally resected without much bleeding. A histological examination revealed that the tumor was cavernous hemangioma. A recurrence of the tumor has not occurred for 14 months.