A Case of Pharyngeal and Laryngeal Sarcoidosis Lasting over 16 years

Sarcoidosis, a systemic disease of unknown pathogenesis, involves granulomatous lesions forming in various organs. Although it commonly affects the chest, lungs, eyes, and skin, it is rare in the pharynx and/or larynx. The few cases of pharyngeal and/or laryngeal sarcoidosis recently reported mostly discuss the acute clinical course, leaving the long-term chronic course unstudied. We report the case of a 51-year-old woman with pharyngeal and laryngeal sarcoidosis having a clinical course exceeding 16 years. Chiefly reporting ongoing throat pain and dyspnea, she was followed-up for chronic laryngitis by an ENT specialist for 16 years. Her first visit to our clinic showed slightly hypertrophic tonsils and distinctive laryngeal tissue swelling from the epiglottis to the arytenoids. Tonsillar and epiglottic lesions biopsied under local anesthesia yielded a histological diagnosis of sarcoidosis. Ensuring systemic examinations showed no other organs to be complicated by sarcoidosis except for the pharynx and larynx. Oral steroids administered for 3 weeks, were ineffective due to the chronic stage, although pharyngeal and laryngeal lesions improved gradually after 2 years of continuous follow-up without medication.