Juvenile nasopharyngeal angiofibroma: report of a case with unusual features

A case of juvenile nasopharyngeal angiofibroma in a 22-year-old male Negro is presented. The unusual clinical features were headache as the initial symptom, chemosis or conjunctival swelling and spontaneous epistaxis which proved fatal. It is suggested that the chemosis was due to blockage of the naso-lachrymal duct by tumour. It is emphasized that the isolated involvement of the lateral wall of the nasopharynx by tumour, as seen in this patient, is rather unusual. Other uncommon pathological features were the presence of smooth muscles fibres in a few of the vessel walls of the tumour and mucous glands in the connective tissue stroma. The latter feature feature has not been reported previously (AU)