A peculiar site of chondroma: the epiglottis

Chondroma of the laryngeal cartilage is an uncommon benign cartilaginous neoplasm. The commonest location is the posterior lamina of the cricoid cartilage, followed by the thyroid cartilage. The occurrence of chondroma in the epiglottis is extremely rare. Depending on the size and location of epiglottic chondroma the clinical manifestations are variable and include a lump in the neck, difficulty in swallowing fluids and dyspnea. In this study, an additional rare case of chondroma arising in the epiglottis is reported. The mass was located over the tip of the epiglottis and caused no significant clinical manifestations except for a foreign body sensation in the throat. Endoscopic excision with an adequate free margin was achieved via suspension laryngoscopy under general anesthesia with intubation. The patient was disease-free during a 1-year follow-up period. We present this case to highlight the occurrence of this rare benign lesion in the epiglottis, and stress that it should not be neglected in the differential diagnosis of an epiglottic mass. Conservative surgical excision is the initial treatment of choice and long-term follow-up is necessary.