title: Giant fibrovascular polyp in the hypopharynx: a case report and review of the literature.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Fibrovascular polyps (FVPs) are benign tumors that commonly occur in the cervical esophagus. Few cases of FVPs of the hypopharynx have been reported, but there has been no English review concerning hypopharyngeal FVPs (hFVPs). Here, we report a case of a vast hFVP, and we also review 13 hFVP cases found in the English literature (PubMed search) including our case.
  
  
  METHODS
  A 41-year-old man with respiratory distress and regurgitation of a mass was referred to our hospital. Endoscopic and radiographic evaluations were required for diagnosis. The tumor originated from the hypopharynx and covered almost the entire larynx, which caused the airway to narrow. An emergency surgical removal was performed under general anesthesia with orotracheal intubation, and the tumor was completely removed transorally using a laryngeal endoscope. Pathological examination revealed that the mass was a FVP.
  
  
  RESULTS
  We investigated patient characteristics, symptoms, polyp size, treatments, and recurrence of 13 hFVP cases. Regurgitation of a mass, dyspnea, and dysphagia were frequently reported symptoms at presentation. All patients were treated by surgical excision with no recurrence. Airway management is critical and tracheotomies were needed in some cases.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  FVPs are often asymptomatic, and they can suddenly cause respiratory distress from laryngeal blockage. Therefore, we emphasize that when such cases are encountered, airway management and surgical treatment should be considered as early as possible.
authors.affiliation: Department of Otolaryngology Head and Neck Surgery, Tokyo Metropolitan Tama Medical Center, 2-8-29 Musashidai, Fuchu, Tokyo, 183-8524 Japan.
authors.forename: Mineko
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Oka
authors.affiliation: Department of Otolaryngology, The University of Tokyo, 7-3-1 Hongo, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo, 113-8655 Japan.
authors.forename: Rumi
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Ueha
authors.affiliation: Department of Otolaryngology, The University of Tokyo, 7-3-1 Hongo, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo, 113-8655 Japan.
authors.forename: Takaharu
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Nito
authors.affiliation: Department of Otolaryngology, The University of Tokyo, 7-3-1 Hongo, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo, 113-8655 Japan.
authors.forename: Tatsuya
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Yamasoba
keywords: Airway management; Dyspnea; Fibrovascular polyp; Hypopharynx; Surgical treatment