A 13-year-old boy presents with swelling in the cheek with recurrent epistaxis. Most likely cause is
CLINICAL FEATURES 1. Age and sex. Tumour is seen almost exclusively in males in the age group of 10-20 years. Rarely, it may be seen in older people and females. 2. Profuse, recurrent and spontaneous epistaxis. This is the most common presentation. The patient may be markedly anaemic due to repeated blood loss. 3. Progressive nasal obstruction and denasal speech. It is due to the mass in the postnasal space. 4. Conductive hearing loss and otitis media with effusion. It occurs due to obstruction of the eustachian tube. 5. Mass in the nasopharynx. Tumour is sessile, lobulated or smooth and obstructs one or both choanae. It is pink or purplish in colour. Consistency is firm but digital palpation should never be done until at the time of operation. 6. Other clinical features like broadening of the nasal bridge, proptosis, swelling of the cheek, infratemporal fossa or involvement of IInd, IIIrd, IVth and VIth cranial nerves will depend on the extent of the tumour. (Ref: Diseases of Ear, Nose and Throat, PL Dhingra, 7th edition, page 279)
Angiofibroma
Carcinoma of Nasopharynx
Rhabdomyosarcoma
None
Pharynx