Benign Nasal Tumor Appearing as Neonatal Respiratory Distress: First Reported Case of Nasopharyngeal Fibrous Histiocytoma

A full-term neonate developed respiratory distress on the first day of life; a nasopharyngeal mass was discovered. Roentgenograms and polytomography suggested a right intranasal mass and an apparent loss of the cribiform plate with separation of the ethmoid air cells. A diagnosis of encephalocele was made, but neurosurgical exploration showed no evidence for an encephalocele and no defect in the floor of the anterior fossa. Because the child's clinical status improved, removal of the nasal mass was postponed until he was 8 months old. Routine microscopy and electron microscopic studies demonstrated that the tumor was a fibrous histiocytoma.