An unusual case of oropharyngeal mature teratoma in a kitten.

Background: Extragonadal teratoma in the head and neck region is unusual in veterinary medicine. So far, only one case of oropharyngeal teratoma has been reported in a cat.

Case description: In this report, a 5-month-old kitten was brought to the clinic with the complaint of difficulty breathing, food intake, and oropharyngeal mass. In clinical examination, there was a large mass, protruding from the localization included left buccal mucosa, soft palate, and extending into the oropharynx but no cranial extension was observed in CT scans. The mass was completely resected. Macroscopically, the mass measured 4.5 × 6.5 cm² and contained solid and cystic areas associated with soft and hard tissue components.

Findings/treatment and outcome: Histopathology revealed an extragonadal solid-cystic (grade 0) oropharyngeal mature teratoma containing structures from endoderm, mesoderm, and ectoderm. After an 8-month follow-up control period, no signs of recurrence were observed.

Conclusion: The case was deemed worthy of being presented with its clinical, radiological, and pathological findings, and complete resection was curative for mature teratoma.