Juvenile Angiofibroma

The red vascular mass seen in the nasopharynx of this young patient caused nasal onstruction and was treated with nasal steroids before being diagnosed. It is a large juvenile nasopharyngeal angiofibroma. Juvenile Nasopharyngeal Angiofibroma while rare, is the most common benign tumor of the nasopharynx. these growths are not cancerous, however they may bleed profusely, spread and damage nerves and bones as well as blocking the eustachian tube and the paranasal sinuses. Over time a juvenile nasopharyngeal angiofibroma, may invade the orbit or the cranial cavity. How these tumors develop is not exactly known, however they occur almost exclusively in adolescent boys and hormones are thought to play a role. The site of origin is theorized to be in the region of a tiny area along the side of the nasal cavity called the Sphenopalatine foramen.

Courtesy od DR Jenny Cho MD FACS Columbia Presbyterian Hospital.