title: Laryngeal myxoma.
abstract: Myxoma is a rare benign tumor, and occurs most commonly in the mandible and maxilla in the head and neck region. Myxoma of the larynx is extremely rare and is frequently misdiagnosed as a vocal polyp. We present the first female case of myxoma on a vocal cord and review the literature on this subject. The patient was 74 years old. She had undergone laryngomicrosurgery for a vocal cord polyp 20 years previously, but did not know the histological diagnosis. We performed laryngomicrosurgery for bilateral edematous vocal cords. Microscopic laryngoscopy demonstrated a mass in the submucosal space of the right vocal cord. The pathologic diagnosis of the mass was myxoma. Myxoma is a connective tissue tumor composed of multinucleate stellate cells suspended in an edematous, mucopolysaccharide-rich stroma. Since myxomas may infiltrate surrounding tissue, they have a high incidence of local recurrence. To prevent recurrence, myxoma should be surgically excised with surrounding normal tissue. Although no local recurrence has been detected, as myxoma is characterized by a slow growth rate, long-term follow-up is needed in this case.
authors.affiliation: Department of Otolaryngology and Head and Neck Surgery, Osaka City University Graduate School of Medicine, Abeno-ku, Osaka, Japan. aki-n@med.osaka-cu.ac.jp
authors.forename: Aki
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Nakamura
authors.forename: Hiroyoshi
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Iguchi
authors.forename: Makoto
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Kusuki
authors.forename: Hideo
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Yamane
authors.forename: Miki
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Matsuda
authors.forename: Shigeto
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Osako
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D003937:Diagnosis, Differential; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007822:Laryngeal Neoplasms / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000473:pathology / Q000601:surgery*; D007828:Laryngoscopy; D008866:Microsurgery; D009232:Myxoma / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000473:pathology / Q000601:surgery*; D009364:Neoplasm Recurrence, Local / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000473:pathology / Q000601:surgery; D011127:Polyps / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000473:pathology / Q000601:surgery; D014827:Vocal Cords / Q000473:pathology / Q000601:surgery*