Lymphoid papillary hyperplasia of the palatine tonsils

A rare case of papillary hyperplasia of the palatine tonsils is reported in a 9-year-old girl who presented with pharyngeal obstruction. The obstruction was due to the bilateral enlargement of the palatine tonsils with a papillary surface configuration so atypical that a diagnosis of malignant neoplasm was clinically considered. Histopathological study showed a peculiar form of lymphoid hyperplasia. No other members of the family were affected. As far as we know, this is the only case reported in recent years in an Occidental patient although a few similar cases have been reported from Japan. The importance of recognizing this peculiar abnormality rests in the fact that in spite of the clinical features simulating a cancer or multiple epithelial papillomas, the process is benign, probably non-neoplastic, and easily cured by bilateral tonsillectomy.