Hearing loss secondary to a nasopharyngeal retention cyst

October 31, 2012 by Enrique Palacios, MD, FACR; Michael Ellis, MD; Harold Neitzschman, MD, FACR
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Imaging Clinic

Resection is generally not indicated for small, asymptomatic pharyngeal cysts. Symptomatic cysts, on the other hand, can be treated with aspiration or a complete transoral resection, particularly if the lesion is large.

Nasopharyngeal cysts are rare, as only a few cases have been described.1-3 These lesions are usually asymptomatic, and most are found incidentally during routine endoscopic or imaging studies. When they become large, they can present with clinical manifestations such as conductive hearing loss secondary to middle ear effusion from obstruction of the eustachian tube opening in the nasopharynx.1,2

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