Angiomyoma of the retropharyngeal space

We report the case of a 65-year-old male patient with an angiomyoma of the retropharyngeal space. Angiomyoma is a tumour that arises from the smooth muscle in the wall of blood vessels. It is a relatively rare tumour of the head and neck, mostly in deep locations. This one is the second reported angiomyoma of the retropharyngeal space. Although image examinations and fine needle aspiration (FNA) did point to a vascular tumour, the diagnosis of this lesion is made by on excisional biopsy and histological staining with vimentin, desmin, actin or myosin. The treatment is excision of the tumour and recurrence is exceptional.