Palatine tonsil: An unusual location of rhinosporidiosis

Rhinosporidiosis is a granulomatous disease caused by Rhinosporidium seeberi which belongs to class Mesomycetozoea. It mainly affects mucous membranes of the nose, nasopharynx, and oropharynx. It can also involve uncommon sites of the human body to disseminated types. Water and soil act as a reservoir for this organism. Isolated involvement of the palatine tonsil by rhinosporidiosis is extremely uncommon. Extra-nasal manifestations of rhinosporidiosis are relatively uncommon in clinical practice. Tonsillar rhinosporidiosis is extremely rare and often confused with oropharyngeal tumors. The mainstay of treatment of rhinosporidiosis is surgical excision by coblation, laser, or electric diathermy. Here, we report a 32-year-old man presented with a red, polypoidal mass of the palatine tonsil and bleeding occasionally and the diagnosis of rhinosporidiosis was confirmed by histopathological examination. The mass was completely removed along with the tonsil by coblation technique and the base was coagulated under general anesthesia. Hence, the possibility of this atypical site of rhinosporidiosis should be included in the clinical differential diagnosis of any pinkish mass originating from the palatine tonsil, particularly in the endemic area.