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CASE REPORT
Localised nasopharyngeal amyloidosis: the importance of postoperative follow-up
  1. Sanathorn Chowsilpa1,
  2. Saisawat Chaiyasate1,
  3. Komson Wannasai2,
  4. Teerada Daroontum2
  1. 1Department of Otolaryngology, Faculty of Medicine, Chiang Mai University, Chiang Mai, Thailand
  2. 2Department of Pathology, Faculty of Medicine, Chiang Mai University, Chiang Mai, Thailand
  1. Correspondence to Dr Sanathorn Chowsilpa, sanathorn{at}gmail.com

Summary

Localised nasopharyngeal amyloidosis is rare. Findings on physical examination and invasive pattern on CT scan can be misleading as it can resemble nasopharyngeal carcinoma. A 64-year-old man presented with left aural fullness for 6 months. The physical examination showed straw-coloured fluid in the left middle ear and irregular reddish mass at the left side of the nasopharynx. The CT scan showed a lobulated heterogeneous mass at the left side of the nasopharynx involving the left Eustachian tube opening. Pathology report was amyloidosis, thus, surgery was done. After a year, there were new foci of amyloidosis at the right side of the nasopharynx, and a repeat surgery was performed. Two years later, the systemic amyloidosis with underlying IgG4-related disease was suspected due to multiple organ involvement. Surgery is the treatment for localised amyloidosis with compressive symptoms. Close follow-up is important after surgical excision due to its recurrence and progression to systemic amyloidosis.

  • ear, nose and throat/otolaryngology
  • malignant and benign haematology

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Footnotes

  • Contributors SCho the corresponding author, takes responsibility for case presentation, discussion, surgical operation and manuscript preparing. SCha takes responsibility for surgical operation and manuscript preparing. KW takes responsibility for pathological description. TK takes responsibility for pathological description.

  • Competing interests None declared.

  • Patient consent Obtained.

  • Provenance and peer review Not commissioned; externally peer reviewed.