Transoral robotic resection of a posterior hypopharyngeal wall liposarcoma: A case report of a rare entity and literature review

Objectives: Hypopharyngeal liposarcomas are rare tumors of the head and neck with only scattered case reports in the literature. They are predominantly seen in male patients with a propensity to occur during the 5th decade of life. Patients typically present with dysphagia and progressive dyspnea over several months. Liposarcomas are typically low-grade; metastasis has not been reported in low-grade disease, and overall prognosis is very good. However, they do have a propensity to recur. Methods: Report of one case of hypopharyngeal liposarcoma seen at our institution. Results: A 57 year old male with no relevant past medical history presented with two months of globus sensation, frequent throat clearing, tightening sensation, dysphagia, and dyspnea on exertion. The patient was brought to the operating room for transoral robotic-assisted excision. The tumor was readily identified and excised off of the posterior pharyngeal wall at the level of the epiglottis. Pathology on permanent section was consistent with well differentiated, low grade liposarcoma. The patient's clinical course, surgical treatment, and management considerations are discussed here. Conclusions: This report is the first known case of a patient with a well differentiated, low grade hypopharyngeal liposarcoma that was successfully resected via transoral robotic surgery (TORS).