A Rare Cause of Dysphagia: Giant Lipoma in Parapharyngeal Space

Parapharyngeal area is one of the most complex areas of head and neck anatomy. Tumors of the parapharyngeal region are very rare among head and neck tumors. Lipomas also constitute a tiny proportion of parapharyngeal tumors so parapharyngeal area lipomas are very rare in the literature. Due to anatomical location, these tumors treatment is challenging.

A 20-year-old male patient admitted to our department with complaints of swallowing difficulty and a mass on the right side of the neck. Magnetic resonance imaging was performed, and it was reported as a 6 × 4.5 cm lipoma. He underwent excision of parapharyngeal area lipoma by a transoral approach.

Parapharyngeal lipomas are very rare, and difficult to diagnose before they turn out symptomatic. The primary treatment approach in tumors of the parapharyngeal area is surgery and the surgical approach should be chosen according to the anatomical location of the lesion.