Epiglottis tumor?

Ah, the epiglottis – that flap of cartilage at the base of your tongue whose existence you might not have been aware of until now. Well, turns out it’s essential for preventing food from entering your windpipe while you eat. And when something goes wrong with it – like a tumor grows on it – things can get pretty serious.

So let’s dive into what an epiglottis tumor is all about.

What is the Epiglottis?

Before we talk about any tumors, let’s first give a little background on this often overlooked body part. As mentioned earlier, the epiglottis is that small lid-like structure made up of cartilage tissue located behind the root (base) of your tongue.

Its sole purpose in life? To prevent liquids and/or solids from accidentally getting lodged in our airways while eating or drinking. So kinda big deal right?

What Causes an Epiglottic Tumor?

Unfortunately (but as one might expect), there isn’t just one single thing to point to here.

A variety of factors such as chronic exposure to carcinogens (cancer-causing substances), HPV infection (specific strains are strongly linked with cancerous growths down there), genetic predisposition / gene mutations or structural abnormalities arising during embryonic development may lead to these pesky critters settling onto your best friend below your throat.

Types

Similar to other types ‘o tumors found elsewhere in our bodies (breast, prostate et.al.), nowadays doctors categorize them by dividing them into 2 broad categories:

Benign Tumors

Benign means non-cancerous i.e., they won’t spread anywhere beyond their immediate home territory

These noisy neighbors don’t usually cause symptoms unless they’re taking up too much space around there causing a ‘traffic jam’ situation.

Malignant Tumors

These trouble-makers are the cancerous ones, which means they can get pretty invasive and spread around.

Malignant growths on your epiglottis are tough to catch early (due to it’s conveniently hidden location), so they’re often diagnosed at later stages when the patient is showing symptoms related to a breathing difficulties such as noisy or labored choking sounds whenever food or liquid is ingested.

Symptoms

As with every other bodily annoyance out there, you probably want an idea of what signs and signals might alert you that something ain’t quite right down there in Epiglottis land.

Here’s some subtle hints that shouldn’t be ignored:

  • Persistent hoarseness
  • Difficulty swallowing solids / liquids
  • The sensation of feeling flushed even if there isn’t an actual fever present.
  • Bad sore throat
  • Wheezing breath sounds

Diagnosis

If the above-said symptoms match Venn diagrams substantially enough with what one is currently experiencing then it’s time to see a medical professional.

  1. Medical History: First thing first, inform them what issues you’ve been noticing for how long.
  2. Physical Examination: This helps rule out any external indications of malignancy rounds off general physical exam like vital sign recording etc in process!
  3. Laryngoscopy: Time to swallow camera-cocktail! whether conducted awake either asleep can give visual clues more informed than naked eye-view guiding care too depending upon tumor size & location relative voice box no less will inform treatment plan going forwards.

  4. Biopsy: Once confirmed need for further investigation, surgeons do get their greedy mitts on Epiglottis by surgically snipping off tissue samples from concerned area under sedation/ anesthetic in OR setting oh boy! All this risk sedation/ anesthesia brings inferring from surgery any potential complications won’t go wrong for anyone haha!.

Treatment

So here we are, the moment you’ve been waiting for: what happens when doctors identify an epiglottis tumor? Can they just take it out?

Well, depends on how big that sucker is to start with!

Surgery

If the growth isn’t spread throughout surrounding structures in your body like cancerous ones (tongue, trachea etc)then yep- Surgeons may advise a partial or total removal of this pesky thing.

(-) No more fear about it ticking time bomb which can harm u.
(+) Bye bye best friend forever lol!

Radiation Therapy

Alternatively instead of going under knife radiation therapy after initial evaluation by team members decide whether these malignant cells sensitive enough zap away with machine ray-guns pointing at affected areas !!! Generally speaking avoids invasive surgical procedures but still comes with side effects /& length and frequency exposure needed something worth considering especially if seen as quite risky in first place i.e cases where resection attempt could lead higher rate morbidity/ /or recurrence.

In conclusion Epi-Tumor right below our noses might seem insignificant however quickly escalating situation!
Keeping tabs on oral hygiene , brushing teeth/mouthwash rinsing help reducing chances get lodged there chewing properly esp dry foods less tends catch throat hit behind tongue all triggers inflammation & repeated irritation.

Hopefully knowledge imparted above will assist reader understanding main concern associated unruly Tumors growing around Epiglottis better grasp prevention planning and early detection measures.

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