Nasopharyngeal hamartoma: report of a case and review of the literature.

The uncommon benign developmental malformation, nasopharyngeal hamartoma, is reported with a review of the literature. Nasopharyngeal hamartoma can be divided into two types based on the histologic presentation. A more common type is composed predominantly of mesodermal tissues while a less common type, as reported in this study, is composed of a spectrum of mucosal epithelial, serous/mucinous gland, and stromal elements. Four additional cases of this less common type of nasopharyngeal hamartoma were found in the literature and are discussed with reference to age, sex, presenting symptoms, location, size, and histology.