Pharyngeal rhabdomyoma: a clinico-pathological study

Adult extracardiac rhabdomyomas are rare with only 33 head and neck cases being reported in the world literature. In this select group, only nine cases have been found in the pharynx. We present two cases of pharyngeal rhabdomyoma focusing on the imaging findings, surgical approaches and more specifically on the histopathological and electron microscopic diagnosis of this interesting lesion. It is important to differentiate this tumor from other neoplasms, including granular cell myoblastoma, rhabdomyosarcomas, hamartomas, and fetal rhabdomyomas.