LIPOMA OF THE HYPOPHARYNX - PREOPERATIVE DIAGNOSIS AND TRANSORAL RESECTION

Clinically, lipomas of the hypopharynx may be confused with other beni gn or even malignant lesions. Barium flow radiography allows depiction of lesions cranial to the epiglottis, but often fails to be accurate for subepiglottic lesions. CT however has allowed a certain diagnosis to be made in many cases in the past. MRI is still more accurate, and allows not only a more specific diagnosis of the lesion, but also a be tter depiction of the origin of the pedunculated lesion and its extens ion in the parapharyngeal space. This paper adds three cases to the 52 cases in the literature already described and presents the typical fe atures of hypopharyngeal lipoma by MRI for the first time.