Chondromatous metaplasia of the larynx.

Chondromatous metaplasia is a disease in which formation of cartilage takes place in the soft tissues. It is rarely seen in the vocal cords and false cords of the larynx, and very few reports of chondromatous metaplasia of the larynx have been published. We report here three cases of chondromatous metaplasia of the larynx. Chondromatous metaplasia should be considered in the differential diagnosis of submucosal tumors of the larynx. The diagnosis was made because the tumors were composed of fibroelastic cartilage which was not continuous with the laryngeal cartilage. Palpation with forceps revealed a hard submucosal tumor. On CT scan, the density of the tumor was the same as that of the epiglottic cartilage, and its margins were not clearly delineated. The diagnosis of chondromatous metaplasia was established by histopathological examination. Elastic fiber stain was useful to establish the diagnosis.