When you have a stuffy nose and check for new organisms, most people naturally think of nasal polyps. Nasal polyps are not life-threatening, although surgery is prone to recurrence and has an impact on quality of life. What needs to be watched out for are neoplasms of the nasal cavity other than nasal polyps, especially neoplasms of the unilateral nasal cavity. They are of many types, commonly known as involuted papilloma, hemangioma, lymphoma, carcinoma, etc. There are benign ones, malignant ones, and those belonging to the junction.
Tumors of the nasal cavity and sinuses will usually be confined to one side only, showing unilateral neoplasia of the nasal cavity. Nasal polyps, on the other hand, are mostly related to inflammation and have bilateral onset, with a small number of unilateral onset. Posterior nostril polyps also tend to develop unilaterally. Therefore, unilateral nasal neoplasms can be benign tumors, malignant tumors, nasal polyps and posterior nostril polyps. In contrast, the vast majority of bilateral nasal neoplasms are nasal polyps and rarely bilateral tumors. Based on such characteristics, unilateral nasal neoplasia is clinically seen in a variety of diseases and is given more attention, otherwise it is prone to misdiagnosis.
For the diagnosis of unilateral nasal neoplasia, a clear diagnosis can usually be made by combining the clinical presentation features and CT findings. In terms of symptoms, nasal polyps and posterior nostril polyps mainly show nasal congestion and runny nose, while hemangiomas and malignant tumors are characterized by bloody runny nose or nasal bleeding. In terms of physical signs, nasal polyps are seen as grayish-white transparent neoplasm, smooth and soft, not easy to bleed. Hemangiomas are dark red and bleed very easily. Inverted papillomas are mostly off-white or light red, slightly papillate, and bleed more easily when touched. Malignant tumors of the nasal cavity are not smooth on the surface, often with necrotic material, and bleed easily. Understanding the above characteristics, combined with CT results, diagnosis can be made in general. If the diagnosis is not clear before surgery, pathological biopsy can be done.