Synchronous sinonasal and respiratory papilloma: could long-term positive pressure ventilation be the cause? A rare case report

Abstract

This case report describes a rare presentation of synchronous pathologies—sinonasal inverted papilloma (SIP) and recurrent respiratory papillomatosis (RRP)—in a 47-year-old man using continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) ventilation for progressive obstructive sleep apnoea. As far as we know, this is the first case of concurrent SIP and RRP disease described in the literature. The patient initially presented for management of chronic rhinosinusitis symptoms. He was found to have an extensive nasal lesion on flexible nasendoscopy, for which surgical management was recommended. However, during anaesthetic induction, he obstructed unexpectedly and was found to have an occlusive supraglottic lesion that required expedient ENT airway management. Diagnosis was made clinically and was supported with histopathology of excised tissue. Management involved multiple staged procedures for excision of sinonasal and glottic lesions and regular follow-up and imaging.