Case Report
Copyright ©The Author(s) 2020. Published by Baishideng Publishing Group Inc. All rights reserved.
World J Clin Cases. Mar 6, 2020; 8(5): 932-938
Published online Mar 6, 2020. doi: 10.12998/wjcc.v8.i5.932
Surgical resection of a large hypopharyngeal hemangioma in an adult using neodymium-doped yttrium aluminum garnet laser: A case report
Mang Jin, Cheng-Yu Wang, Yun-Xiang Da, Wei Zhu, Hui Jiang
Mang Jin, Cheng-Yu Wang, Yun-Xiang Da, Wei Zhu, Hui Jiang, Department of Otolaryngology, Jinshan Hospital, Fudan University, Shanghai 201508, China
Author contributions: Jiang H, Jin M, and Da YX performed the diagnostic investigations and treatments; Wang CY and Zhu W performed literature review; Jin M and Wang CY were major contributors in the writing of this manuscript; all authors have read and approved the final version of the manuscript.
Supported by the Jinshan Hospital Qihang Plan, No. 2018-JSYYQH-02.
Informed consent statement: Written informed consent was obtained from the patient for publication of this report and any accompanying images.
Conflict-of-interest statement: The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.
CARE Checklist (2016) statement: The authors have read the CARE Checklist (2016), and the manuscript was prepared and revised according to the CARE Checklist (2016).
Open-Access: This article is an open-access article that was selected by an in-house editor and fully peer-reviewed by external reviewers. It is distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution NonCommercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work non-commercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited and the use is non-commercial. See: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/
Corresponding author: Hui Jiang, MD, PhD, Chief Doctor, Department of Otolaryngology, Jinshan Hospital, Fudan University, No. 1508, Longhang Road, Shanghai 201508, China. jianghuiluck@aliyun.com
Received: November 24, 2019
Peer-review started: November 24, 2019
First decision: December 23, 2019
Revised: January 2, 2020
Accepted: January 8, 2020
Article in press: January 8, 2020
Published online: March 6, 2020
Processing time: 102 Days and 18.5 Hours
Abstract
BACKGROUND

Generally, hemangiomas do not require surgical intervention; however, cases of large hemangiomas, potentially involving the throat and trachea, necessitate surgical therapy. Here, we present a case of hypopharyngeal hemangioma in an adult that was successfully treated with neodymium-doped yttrium aluminum garnet (Nd-YAG) laser.

CASE SUMMARY

Laryngoscopic examination of a 61-year-old man demonstrated the presence of a large, submucosal vascular lesion that extended into the epiglottis, left arytenoid cartilage, lateral to the aryepiglottic fold, and pyriform sinus. The lesion was resected and photocoagulated with limited hemorrhage using Nd: YAG laser. The hypopharyngeal hemangioma was completely excised. The patient showed no recurrence of hypopharyngeal hemangioma during the 1.5-year follow-up period.

CONCLUSION

Laser therapy is one of the effective tools for treating hemangiomas with rapid, uncontrolled growth or in functional areas, with few side effects and complications. The present case of a male patient with a large hypopharyngeal hemangioma, treated with YAG laser, demonstrates the efficacy of laser photocoagulation in treating cases of hemangiomas, without the risk of bleeding or airway obstruction. The favorable postoperative outcomes demonstrated by our patient with Nd: YAG laser therapy indicate its consideration in the therapy of similar cases.

Keywords: Yttrium aluminum garnet laser; Large; Adult; Surgical resection; Hypopharyngeal; Hemangioma; Case report

Core tip: Owing to the rarity of hemangiomas, not much information is known about the incidence and treatment of such cases. Hemangiomas generally do not require surgical interventions. However, owing to the large size of the tumor in our patient, we used neodymium-doped yttrium aluminum garnet laser photocoagulation to treat the tumor. The therapy was successful, and showed no occurrence of bleeding, airway obstruction, or postoperative infections. We believe that our study makes a significant contribution to the literature because the favorable results observed in our patient highlight the beneficial effects of laser photocoagulation in treating hemangiomas.