MYXOMA OF THE PALATE AND PHARYNX: REPORT OF A CASE

The comprehensive reviews of cases of tumors in the oropharynx which have appeared in recent years make it presumptuous to present the clinical and surgical history of a single patient with a tumor of the palate and pharynx unless there was some unique feature worthy of record. This distinction is accorded because the tumor we observed appears to have been a pure myxoma, adequately diagnosed by trustworthy laboratory studies, both in preoperative biopsy and in postoperative analysis. A pure myxoma at this site is a rare occurrence. In the splendid studies of New and Childrey, 1 presented before the American Laryngological Association in 1931, observations were reported on three hundred and fifty-seven cases of tumor of the tonsil and pharynx observed at the Mayo Clinic between 1917 and 1930. Among the sixty-three cases reported as instances of tumor, one fibromyxoma and one myxomatous polyp were mentioned, but no true myxoma was