A Rare Case of Nasopharyngeal Glial Heterotopia in a Neonate

Nasopharyngeal glial heterotopias is an extremely rare, nonhereditary, developmental malformation manifesting as a mass composed of mature neural tissue with no intracranial continuity. Glial heterotopia is a rare, non-neoplastic, extracranial midline malformation. Nasal glioma is the most frequently encountered entity among congenital nasal masses. Cases which are associated with intracranial extension are termed as encephalocele. It must be considered in the differential diagnosis of airway obstruction in neonates. Magnetic resonance imaging is mandatory to rule out intracranial extension. We report a rare case of heterotopic brain tissue in nasopharynx with no intracranial extension to attract attention to the diagnostic workup of nasopharyngeal obstruction in a neonate with respiratory distress. Clinical examination and radiological studies are diagnostic while early surgical excision and histopathological confirmation is the gold standard. This baby underwent complete intranasal endoscopic excision of mass on day 20 of life. The postoperative course was uneventful and the baby is growing well on follow-up. This case would be one of the few cases reported from India.

An unusual presentation of neuroglial heterotopia: case report

We report a rare case of nasopharyngeal neuroglial heterotopia in a 16-year-old girl who presented with sore throat and feeling of a lump in her throat. Neuroglial heterotopia is a mass composed of misplaced neural tissue during embryonic development which has lost its intracranial connection. A careful review of literature in PUBMED shows most of the previously reported cases of nasopharyngeal glial heterotopia presented during neonatal or infancy period with symptoms of respiratory distress or airway obstruction. Our case caused a diagnostic dilemma due to late presentation and atypical radiological findings. Imaging, especially MRI, is vital for evaluating such nasopharyngeal masses in children for pre-surgical planning and more importantly to rule out any intracranial communication. Treatment is surgical resection by endoscopic or external approach, with a rare possibility of recurrence.