Definition

Nasal papillomas are warts located inside the nose.

Description

Two types of tumors can grow inside the nose:
polyps and papillomas. By far the most common are
polyps, which have smooth surfaces. On the contrary,
papillomas have irregular surfaces and are, in fact, warts.
Papillomas may be caused by the same viruses that cause
warts elsewhere on the body. They are inside the nose,
more often on the side near the cheek, and, because of
their internal structure, they are much more likely to
bleed than polyps.

There is a special type of nasal papilloma called an
inverting papilloma because of its unique appearance.
About 10 or 15% of these are or can become cancers.

Causes and symptoms

Like polyps, papillomas can plug up the nose and
disable the sense of smell. Unlike polyps, papillomas
often bleed.

Diagnosis

A physical examination with special instruments
will detect these tumors.

Treatment

Because of the possibility of cancer, all nasal papillomas
must be removed surgically and sent to the labora-
tory for analysis. If a cancer is present, further surgery
may be necessary to guarantee that all of the cancer has
been removed. The initial surgery can be done in an
office setting by a specialist in head and neck surgery,
also known as otorhinolaryngology and popularly abbreviated
ENT (ear, nose, and throat). Cancer surgery is
more extensive and often requires hospitalization.

Prognosis

For benign (non-cancerous) lesions, removal is curative,
although they tend to recur, just like warts elsewhere.
The cancerous papillomas may occasionally escape complete
surgical removal and spread to adjacent or distant
sites. The prognosis is then much more complex.