Solitary isolated neurofibroma of the soft palate
A 40-year-old man referred to our clinic from a peripheral hospital with a 2-year history of lump in the throat. He developed muffled voice and some swallowing difficulties 5 months prior to presentation. About 2 months to presentation, he noticed rapid increase in the size of the lesion and pain. There was no history of respiratory difficulty or cervical swelling. He has never smoked cigarette nor take alcohol or its beverage.\nPhysical examination revealed good oral hygiene, a pedunculated left-sided soft palatal mass ∼4 × 5 cm ulcerated on the medial surface, touching the tongue base and faucial pillars on the ipsilateral side but not attached to them. No contact bleeding was observed, and the rest of the mucosa appeared normal. There is no palpable significant cervical lymph nodes (Fig. ).\nFull blood count, electrolyte, urea and creatinine, urinalysis and chest X-rays were normal. Computerized tomographic scan revealed a mass in the oropharynx, non-contrast enhancing, no calcification and no bony involvement.\nExamination under anaesthesia via tracheostomy confirmed our findings and tumour was completely excised. Histological examination revealed features consistent with neurofibroma with no evidence of malignancy. Post-operatively there has been sustained clinical improvement (Fig. ). It is interesting to note that keeping follow-up appointments by patient is usually difficult in this part of the world, especially post-operative cases of benign or slow growing lesions. This is partly due to poverty and partly due to ignorance. Although our patient is in his 11th month post-operative, we saw him last 2 weeks after surgery (Fig. ).