Nasopharyngeal brain heterotopia--a cause of upper airway obstruction in infancy

The finding of mature neuroglial tissue in a mass from the head and neck region of a child raises four differential diagnostic possibilities: teratoma, encephalocele, glioma, and heterotopic brain tissue. We present a review of the literature and discuss the clinical, radiographical, and pathological features of a rare nasopharyngeal brain heterotopia in an infant causing upper airway obstruction.