Immature teratoma of the nose and paranasal sinuses masquerading as bilateral nasal polyposis: a unique presentation.

ABSTRACT

Teratomas are tumors of multipotent cells derived from all three germ cell layers and recapitulate normal organogenesis. Teratomas are hypothesized to arise by misplacement of multipotent germ cells. Teratoma is usually developmental and sometimes congenital neoplasm which displays both solid and cystic components with gross and microscopic differentiation into a wide variety of tissues representative of all three germ layers--ectoderm, mesoderm and endoderm. We are describing a case which was initially diagnosed as bilateral nasal polyposis clinically but histopathology report came out to be immature teratoma. This case is being reported to make aware all ENT surgeons of such unique presentation of sinonasal teratomas as such presentation of these tumors has not been reported in literature previously, and hence teratomas should be considered in the differential diagnosis of nasal polyposis in future.