Lymphangiomatous polyp of the palatine tonsil in children

Abstract

BACKGROUND: Lymphangiomatous polyp is a very uncommon benign and congenital lesion that appears mainly in the head and neck area. The polyp arises due to a vascular and lymphatic malformation. Medical publications indicate that the number of cases in children is unknown. CLINICAL CASE: In this paper, two different cases will be presented; one of these dates from 2018 (a 6-year-old boy) and the other one from 2021, the first younger clinical case (a 3-year-old girl) of multiple and bilateral lymphangiomatous polyps of the palatine tonsils. Both these cases were diagnosed during routine procedures at our hospital which will be explained below. CONCLUSIONS: The clinical suspicion is based on medical history, symptoms (dysphagia, foreign body sensation) and the oral cavity examination, but the definitive diagnosis is histopathological. The treatment consists of a tonsillectomy or a simple surgical excision. Regarding the images (CT-scan or MRI) there is controversy over whether to perform these or not. Although the clinical behavior of tonsillar lymphangiomatous polys is unknown and unclear, our reported cases did not have presence of a malignancy or growth.